Rep. Michele Bachmann was critical Tuesday about First Lady Michelle Obama's breastfeeding initiative and about the new IRS policy allowing breast pumps to be purchased through tax-advantaged flexible spending accounts.

The mother of five said she breastfed her children, but opposed the idea of federal financial incentives to encourage other women to breastfeed their babies.

"To think that government has to go out and buy my breast pump for my babies? You wanna talk about the nanny state, I think you just got ... a new definition of the nanny," Bachmann said on "The Laura Ingraham Show."

The change came amid Obama's initiative -- she especially wants to increase breastfeeding rates among African American mothers -- and a Pediatrics study showing that children breastfed at least four months were less likely to become obese.

The IRS as recently as last fall had ruled that breast pumps couldn't be purchased through FSA accounts, which allow people to spend pretax earnings on medical and dental care as well as over-the-counter supplies such as pain medications and contact lens solution.

(Note that FSAs cannot be used for regular infant formula. However, they can be used for the extra cost of buying special formula for children with specific medical needs or allergies to the regular stuff.)

So what are your thoughts? Considering the federal government's huge deficit, should it be giving tax breaks for women to buy breast pumps? (Women without FSAs might get tax breaks as well for the $200 to $300 breast pumps. They would be able to deduct the costs if their total medical spending exceeded 7.5 percent of their household AGI.)

Or is Bachmann right (on the issue, not just politically)?! Should this decision and the resulting cost be left fully to parents?