The Human Capital Project has changed the national conversation on taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood. The Human Capital Project is the name for a series of undercover videos—made by David Daleiden’s Center for Medical Progress—that show high-ranking Planned Parenthood operatives negotiating to enrich themselves and PP by selling baby body parts.

The sacred cow of Planned Parenthood has been gored—not fatally, of course, so long as there is a President who will veto any defunding measure Congress presents him. Nonetheless, as Americans become better acquainted with its heartless human-parts trafficking, the Teflon surface of Planned Parenthood’s brand is becoming seriously gouged.

Today fully 56% of Americans favor some reduction in federal funding for Planned Parenthood: 27% would freeze funding until investigations into the trafficking allegations are complete; 29% would reduce or eliminate the federal funding. Only 36% would “make no change.”

These findings come from a recent poll by The Polling Company, which asked: “Planned Parenthood receives a half billion dollars in taxpayer funding each year. Some Americans say that the government should temporarily freeze taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood until the baby body parts investigations are completed. What do you think Congress should do in regards to Planned Parenthood’s half a billion dollar funding?”

According to The Polling Company’s research, 28% of Americans have seen one or more of the videos, and 20% said they still want to see them. Even more interesting are the reasons people gave for having not viewed the videos: 26% said they were afraid the videos were too disturbing to view. Only 38% said they were “not interested.”

In sum: over 60% of Americans have either seen the videos, intend to see them, or know about their grotesque content. That’s what Madison Avenue would consider excellent “market penetration.” The Human Capital Project’s first three videos have garnered more than three million views on YouTube. The reuse of these videos by other media cannot be calculated. As time passes, the Center for Medical Progress’s credibility—and Daleiden’s—only grows.

When a stone is thrown into a pool, the ripples spread slowly but steadily. CMP’s ripples are big.

After the first video was released in July, Planned Parenthood’s initial denial quickly faded into minimalist defensiveness. Then, in October, it announced it would no longer accept payment for the costs of collecting and shipping fetal tissue to research labs. Significantly, it is the National Abortion Federation, not Planned Parenthood, which has initiated a lawsuit in California to shut down CMP. Could it be that lawsuits mean discovery—and Planned Parenthood does not want any more discoveries than the ones David Daleiden already has made?

Three Congressional committees immediately began investigating Planned Parenthood during the summer. Recently, the House created a special Select Investigative Panel to consolidate the investigations. Thirteen states began separate investigations; several of them have since restricted at least some funding of Planned Parenthood.

Planned Parenthood decries the investigations, of course: “We’ve faced an unprecedented onslaught of attacks this year,” their website proclaims as they ask for $500,000 in donations to meet their end-of-year matching gift challenge.

The Left no doubt wishes mightily that the whole issue would go away. But the Left has used the investigative authority of Congress to work its will in the past, so it’s hard to argue against the use of this powerful tool.

And The Polling Company has found solid evidence that most Americans don’t want the investigations shut down. Here’s another question respondents were asked:

“After videos showing Planned Parenthood executives negotiating the exchange of money for fetal tissue and baby body parts were released, investigations to see if laws were broken started. Do you support or oppose continued investigation into these video allegations by state and federal authorities?”

Amazingly, 68% of Americans favor continuing the investigations. No, it’s not just conservative Christians who want Congress to keep at it. It’s 64% of self-identified Democrats and 72% of self-identified Independents as well as 76% of Republicans. Slice the responses another way, and The Polling Company finds that 70% of women and 77% of Latinos say the investigations should continue. Good-bye, War on Women.

The longer the investigations go on, the more will be discovered and revealed.

Merry Christmas to the pro-life cause from the Center for Medical Progress. With more videos still to come, the Human Capital Project is indeed the gift that keeps on giving.

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Connie Marshner is a commentator and researcher on life and family issues in the Washington, D.C., area.