BirthorNot.com -- Minnesota couple asks the Internet to help them make a crucial life decision
Alisha Arnold and her husband, Pete, have lost three children to miscarriages and are now using a website they started called Birth or Not to help them decide whether they should continue their current pregnancy or seek an abortion.
"You can vote and choose whether we abort or keep our unborn child. For the first time, your vote on the topic of abortion can make a difference," a statement on the website reads.
Voting will remain open until Dec. 7, two days before the Arnolds could legally get an abortion in Minnesota, the site said.
At midday Friday the vote stood at 82,584 (about 80%) for "give birth" and 19,539 (about 20%) for "have an abortion."
Alisha Arnold, 30, is about 17 weeks' pregnant and the couple's website, which includes ultrasound video and photos, has ignited an online controversy, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
"We wanted to give people a chance to voice their opinions in a real situation where it makes a difference," Alisha Arnold told the Star Tribune.
The Apple Valley, Minn., couple started the website as Alisha was still healing emotionally from the most recent of her three miscarriages and feeling unsure if she was ready for a baby, the Star Tribune reported.
"I wanted to wait longer because I was losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle," Alisha Arnold told the Star Tribune. "I wasn't sure what to do."
So the Arnolds launched their website.
"We are using it to help determine our decision, but we will still make the final decision," Alisha Arnold told the Star Tribune.
News websites and blogs have debated and speculated whether the website and the Arnolds' pregnancy is a hoax, a move to sway political opinions, or a ploy for attention and fame.
Alisha Arnold told the Star Tribune the couple were both "computer software trainers."
The couple has received hateful e-mails, saying things such as the Arnolds "were idiots and don't deserve to be parents and were irresponsible," Alisha Arnold said in the article.
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Image: BirthorNot.com home page.
