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@Mrs. Peanut: I saw that, and my first thought was that I would be willing to bet money she said that to appease more moderate voters. She later tweeted out that she is "proud" to stand by Planned Parenthood. I pretty much take anything a campaigning politician says with a very large grain of salt.

@mrsscb: Perhaps! It's very likely, actually. My point was though, you don't have to be pro-life to be upset by the videos.

I agree with many previous posters that the video's main effect is not to convince pro-choice people to be pro-life, but to galvanize the "complacent" pro-lifers / solidify support.

While I do not support the unrestricted right to abortion, I do think that it's a sensible thing to donate fetal tissue as long as the mother agrees. I may not agree with the decision to abort, but if someone is going to do it, using the tissue for research seems like the best end, pragmatically speaking.

I think one important aspect of this video is reminding people of the humanity of abortions. Even at the early stages, the embryo is surprisingly developed. It's not just removing a "clump of tissue" like a wart or a polyp or a large cyst. Many of my friends like to ignore that aspect and I think it's important to face the facts, regardless of what you end up deciding politically. My BFF had a 8 wk abortion and didn't realize that at that point her baby had a functional heart, lungs, arms, legs, etc. It's just that some people think that the mother's humanity and rights trumps that of a fetus', that's all.

A huge issue that I see being ignored in relation to this video, is that the video refers to 2nd trimester abortions... which are very rare and usually a heart-wrenching, complex decision. My pro-life friends' responses to the video seem to project the cavalier attitude of the PP doctor onto the women having the abortion, which is an oversimplification of what's going on.

@ms. line: You've never met an "anti-choicer" who is also a vegetarian? Well then, hello Though I wouldn't say I'm anti-choice, I'd say let's work to create a society where unplanned pregnancies are limited, but supported and welcomed robustly. Yay for comprehensive sex ed, free birth control, paid parental leave, PP's other services, etc.

@DesertDreams88: I'm a pro-life democrat, also an anomaly. I don't usually tell people that because I would get judged hard core. But I agree with your take. I think the more we can do to help people facing unplanned pregnancies, the better, and addressing issues of living wages, childcare costs, medical care and societal stigma about single mothers and working moms and parenting in general is a much more ethical way to address abortion.

As far as PP, I used to have to go there for birth control and thought the health care I received was pretty bad. That could have been an anomaly, but they brushed off some major health issues I was having.

As far as the video...I wish both sides of the aisle would address women's issues that extend past our uteruses.

My thoughts are that it's a well-timed piece meant to stir up right-wing support (and $$$) before a contentious and important primary and eventually election season. It's also another way to punish women for having sex, especially out of wedlock, because it isn't about defunding abortion centers, it's really about defunding centers that provide, by a vast, vast majority, contraceptive services without judgement on a woman's sexual choices.

These attacks have been going on for a long time, and they will continue on for a long time.

To say this is a non-issue is sad to me and too cavalier. I do understand the argument regarding the benefit in using the tissue that would be discarded for medical research, but are the mothers aware and consenting? It seems as if the whole thing is very hush-hush which is concerning to me. Also, in most cases of donation the recipient of the tissue has no control over when the donor dies. You could certainly see a situation in which the abortion is delayed to allow further development of the fetal tissue. It just seems like a slippery slope to me. I am really neither pro-choice nor pro-life. I see the need for availability of safe abortions but wish the second trimester abortions were banned, outside of dire situations, for the health of the mother or nonviable fetuses. I would never have an abortion myself and would hope to be supportive of a friend/loved one in an unplanned pregnancy. In this area I think it's too sensitive and the tissue shouldn't be used for research purposes.

@Amelieisme: The women (not mothers, I feel that's an important distinction) are definitely aware and must consent. As much as the organization that makes these videos wants people to believe, this practice is not hush-hush, nor is it new. I mentioned earlier that fetal tissue research was a fundamental part of the polio vaccine's development. I also honestly can't imagine a scenario in which a woman seeking an abortion would opt to carry the child longer. I really think abortion tends to be something people want to get over with so they can move on. Tissue donation just allows them to contribute to something positive in the process.

@Amelieisme: But Planned Parenthood isn't profiting off fetal tissue donation, so there's no incentive for them to delay an abortion in order to get "more fetus." (Which probably isn't any more meaningful to researchers, anyway.)

@Amelieisme: That's not how it works. Rabbits do not suffice because their cells act very differently than human stem cells, which are isolated in fetal tissue. "Fully developed" (aka adult) tissue is actually less useful, which is why researchers are using embryonic and fetal tissue to begin with. The New York Times recently reported that first-trimester fetal tissue actually has more monetary value to labs than second-trimester tissue.

That said, do you truly think Planned Parenthood (or any abortion provider, because even private clinics donate tissue) would routinely delay abortions solely because they care more about the number of cells that could be harvested by a third party research firm than about the health and safety of their own patients? And this would happen on such a wide scale that it would outweigh 1) the vast public health benefits of fetal tissue research, and 2) the comfort that women may find in having the opportunity to make their abortions more meaningful? (These are rhetorical questions; I'm not engaging further on this line of reasoning.)

@lovelyplum: thanks... I have to admit I was a little bit nervous when I saw that I had a reply on this thread!

Actually, it's typically state governments that have a waiting period and require women to wait a certain number of days before getting an abortion: http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/06/02/411479776/in-several-states-abortion-waiting-periods-grow-longer