[Elsiejay]

Because the Culture of Death desires the approval of the general public implicit in taxpayer funding.

[DuncanWaring]

Because the Culture of Death desires the approval of the general public implicit in taxpayer funding.

I'm inclined to believe that's the real answer.

[AmishDude]

Because the Culture of Death desires the approval of the general public implicit in taxpayer funding.

Yep. When Bush first was discussing cutting off the funding, it was noted that the private sector was funding a lot of this research and the "scientific community" opposed it because of the prestige of federal funding.