Michele Bachmann Talks Miscarriage, Foster Children

Michele Bachmann has talked openly about the miscarriage she suffered after having her second child, and in the new issue of MORE magazine she explains that the loss helped cement her anti-abortion views and inspired her and husband Marcus to take in foster children:

That was really the moment when we opened ourselves up to the reality of how important children are. Not that we didn't think the first two were important or the baby that we lost. It changed our thinking in that we wanted to be open to more. Maybe that's what it was. We didn't get married saying we're going to have two kids and that's it. We really didnt even think about how many children we would have. But I think when that happened we were just profoundly struck by the value of every human being, and we wanted just to be open to have them.

Bachmann first went public about her miscarriage on the House floor in 2008 during debates over an abortion bill.

"I thank my husband, who stood by me with our five babies and who stood by me when we lost a baby," she said. "I thank you for standing by me when we didn't know if we could go on anymore, and I thank you for stepping up to the plate, my husband, for being willing to bring 23 foster children into our home."

Bachmann's staunch pro-life record separates her from opponent Mitt Romney, who has supported abortion rights in the past.

Marcus Bachmann, meanwhile, is embroiled in a dispute with a gay rights activist over an unpaid bill for a "pray the gay away" therapy session.

Read the entire MORE interview, in which Bachmann talks about parenting, Sarah Palin comparisons and her appearance, here.