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MANCHESTER, New Hampshire, June 14, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – US. Rep. Michele Bachmann made a surprise move during the GOP’s New Hampshire presidential debate, using the format to announce that she was making an official run for the president of the United States.

Bachmann is already known to have been considering a US presidential run, and rumors began floating in March that the chairwoman of the House of Representatives’ Tea Party Caucus would form an exploratory committee in June.

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In her first question at the debate, Bachmann seized the spotlight and told moderator, CNN’s John King, that she is all-in for the GOP nomination.

“I just want to make an announcement here for you, John, on CNN tonight,” said Bachmann. “I filed today my paperwork to seek the office of the presidency of the United States today. And I’ll very soon be making my formal announcement.”

Bachmann stressed her pro-life and pro-marriage credentials throughout the debate, and pledged her first priority would be to roll back “ObamaCare”, the national health care reform law known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). She stressed that “it’s senior citizens who have the most to lose in ObamaCare” because PPACA divests $500 billion from Medicare, and reallocates it “to pay for younger people”.

She also highlighted that while she favored states defining marriage on their own, that she would be supportive of a federal marriage amendment.

In contrast to her fellow Minnesotan Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Bachmann stressed that her opposition to legal abortion did not stop at “rape, incest, or the life of the mother.”

“I am 100 percent pro-life. I’ve given birth to five babies, and I’ve taken 23 foster children into my home,” said Bachmann. “I believe in the dignity of life from conception until natural death. I believe in the sanctity of human life.”

Bachmann cited the Declaration of Independence’s statement that “inalienable rights [are] given to us from God, not from government.”

“And the beauty of that is that government cannot take those rights away. Only God can give, and only God can take,” she continued.

“And the first of those rights is life. And I stand for that right. I stand for the right to life. The very few cases that deal with those exceptions are the very tiniest of fraction of cases, and yet they get all the attention,” said Bachmann. “Where all of the firepower is and where the real battle is, is on the general – genuine issue of taking an innocent human life. I stand for life from conception until natural death.”

Pro-life issues are core components of Bachmann’s principles.  In her keynote address at the March for Life Rose Dinner on January 24, Bachmann explained that the “life of the unborn is not a sidebar issue … It is the issue that impacts more than any other how you view other issues.”

Bachmann is one of the leading fiscal conservative voices in Congress. During the debate, she stressed that the GOP is a three-legged stool of “peace through strength”, fiscal conservatives, and social conservatives.

“We need everybody to come together because we’re going to win. Just make no mistake about it,” said Bachmann. “I want to announce tonight: President Obama is a one-term president.”

“You’ll win,” said Bachmann, her remarks having prompted cheers and applause from the enthused audience.

See Bachmann YouTube announcement of her entry into the race