Just when we thought we'd seen it all. Truly a new low...
A married couple have sparked fury by setting up a website to let
the public vote on whether or not they should have an abortion.Pete and Alisha Arnold, both 30, launched www.birthornot.com because they are unsure if they want to be parents.

They launched the controversial poll so the public could 'make a difference in the real world'.





-Fury: Pete and Alisha Arnold have set up a
website Birthornot.com so internet users can help them decide whether
to keep their unborn child or not-



The couple, from Minneapolis, have uploaded regular scan images of
the foetus, which is a perfectly-healthy boy they have nicknamed
'Wiggles'.Alisha is now 17 weeks pregnant and web users have
until December 7 to cast their vote - just two days before the 20-week
cut-off line for a state-legal abortion.The latest results shows
a fairly split opinion, with 46.27 per cent voting to keep the baby and
53.73 per cent wanting the couple to have an abortion.Writing on
her blog, Alisha said she fears the pressure of juggling motherhood and
a career could cause her to have a nervous breakdown.She wrote:
'I'm not convinced that I want to change the status quo. I feel that as
I age I've actually gotten more selfish and set in my ways.'I'm afraid that I will eventually regret starting a family and "settling down", as they say.


'I
fear that the constant pressure to be the perfect wife and mother while
maintaining a full-time job will eventually cause my brain to implode
and lead to a nervous breakdown.'

-Foetus: Their site includes ultrasound images of their 17-week unborn boy, which they have nicknamed 'Wiggles'-


Their solution to the dilemma was to set up a public vote, which the couple say is in the best traditions of American democracy.

They state on the site: 'Voting is such an integral part of the American identity.

'We vote on everything from the best singer on American Idol to who the next leader of the free world will be.

'Wouldn't
it be nice to voice your opinion and have it actually make a difference
in the real world? Why not vote on whether to continue or abort an
actual pregnancy?'
Pete and Alisha, who have been married for nine years, both work in the IT industry and are keen bloggers.


They have suffered two miscarriages in the past ten months - the first at 16 weeks and the second at five weeks.


Despite
falling pregnant for the third time, the couple said they were unsure
whether to proceed because they have put off having a child for so long.

-Controversy: The couple, from Minnesota, U.S.,
said they were unsure whether to continue with the pregnancy because
they had put off having children for so long-

Writing on his blog, Mr Arnold said: 'We've put off having a kid for
so long that I worry there is stagnation in our desire to do so.
'At first we put it off to finish our childhood, and then I decided mine was not going to end without a push.


'By that time Alisha had just gotten a new job and was getting settled, so we put it off longer.



'Now, nearly ten years after our marriage the prospect of being in my 50s when a kid graduates childhood is a bit unnerving.'


Some claim the website is a pro-life publicity stunt but the couple have strenuously denied this.



-Choice: Voters have until December 7th to take part in the online poll, which has already received more than 30,000 entries-



They told U.S. website Gawker: 'We are taking this very seriously.
It's definitely not a pro-life campaign, we believe in a woman's right
to choose.
'It's kind of like Congress. They might vote for something, but the president has the final veto.


'If it's overwhelming one way or the other, that will carry a lot more weight.'


David
Davidson, who originally voted on the poll without giving his name, had
a change of heart after viewing the baby scans - and he begged them to
consider their actions.
He said: 'Just because I acted like
an immature little child who didn't weigh the cost of manipulating this
poll because I thought it would be "funny" doesn't mean you should
sacrifice your child to the internet deity that is "Anonymous".'Another
anonymous user added: 'If you're dumb enough to let random strangers on
the internet decide the fate of your family, then you are certainly not
mature enough to be parents. You need professional help.'Despite
the anger, the couple have continued with the website and 'support
people encouraging others to voice their opinions on an issue as large
as keeping a baby or not'. Pro-life groups today slammed their website as 'spine-chilling'.

Rebecca
Ng, spokesman for the ProLife Alliance, said: 'Whatever the intention
behind this horrifying and objectionable website, the couple in
question are maintaining that they will respect the public vote on
whether to abort or not.'Note that they place abortion above keeping the baby on their voting button choice.

'Whatever
may or may not be real about this website, the ultrasound of the baby
is of a real human being. To think for one minute that his or her
existence is going to be determined by those who log on and vote is
absolutely spine-chilling.'Mike Judge, Head of Communications
for The Christian Institute, said: 'If it's genuine, it's appalling.
Even if it's a prank, it's in very bad taste.'Abortion is a
highly sensitive issue. If there's anything anything good to come from
this it is unlikely. I don't support it whether serious or a prank.'I've never seen anything like it, I can't conceive of anything so immature.

'We
deal with lots of different issues. Would you get someone's father or
mother suffering Alzheimer's and run a poll to see if we should put a
pillow over their face? It's just not the way to go about it.'