This is a remarkable
article by Ruben Navarette, Jr. that I think illustrates the real impact of the PP videos. A lot of abortion rights people dismiss the videos because they at least arguably don't establish that PP is breaking the law, and as NJ, Larry, and I have all agreed, why not put the fetal tissue to good use if the abortion is taking place anyway? In legal contexts, those are valid points, but in the political scope, they're side issues. The videos do two things that are far more significant, and it's showing in Navarette's near-conversion.
First, they show the fetal remains and discuss clearly defined organs, which forces people to actually think about what's involved in detail. If a fetus has useful organs, that seems more life-like and human and less like a "glob of cells" that you might throw in the trash like toenail clippings or a mole that falls off. As Navarette points out, the abortion issue is a tug-of-war of rights between mother and unborn baby. To be pro-choice, you either ignore or dehumanize the unborn baby, and that gets a lot harder to do when it's clearly not a mere "glob of cells."
Second, it shows the cavalier and flippant attitude that the people inside the abortion industry have about what they're doing. Even Cecile Richards had to apologize for it. They're discussing it the way we'd picture Joseph Mengele discussing his "work." It's real sickness and disregard for human life, and most fair minded people can see that.
It's one of these issues on which the more people know about it in detail, the less comfortable they are with it and the more perverse the abortion rights advocates really sound. In addition, it makes it harder to justify sitting on the sidelines out of deference as many pro-choice men do.