Couple Puts Abortion Decision to Online Vote

File this one under wisdom of the crowd taken to the extreme. A Minnesota couple says it will base its decision whether to abort a fetus on the outcome of an online vote.

Alisha Arnold, of Apple Valley, Minn., who is 17 weeks pregnant, told the Minneapolis StarTribune that she had suffered three miscarriages and that she and her husband Peter were unsure whether they were prepared to have a child. Thus the decision to create a website where people can vote as well as monitor ting the progress of the pregnancy.

The obvious question is whether this is on the level or another in a long line of online gotchas to hoodwink a sometimes gullible media. The Arnolds were not immediately available for comment, but the couple's website has struck a nerve with a very interested public.

On the site's bulletin board, one person writing under the nickname "Spounge" called it "a sick joke." Another, calling herself "Dini," slammed the idea as "a cowardly way of making a decision."

None of this came as a surprise to the Arnolds. Indeed, in a recent post, Pete Arnold wrote that there was no shortage of emotion surrounding their decision.

"Though there are indeed many hateful. For every ten comments that are negative or spiteful there is one that is positive enough to blow them out of the water. We have even had multiple people (accounting for approximately 6% of those who have sent us a message) who have offered to adopt if the vote result is Abort.We have had multiple interviews today."

"The entire experience has been rather dizzying, and we are both surprised and impressed at how many have taken interest. Most of the interviewers have been very nice and professional, which is something I had not expected. Two radio talking heads we talked to were pretty clear in their attempts to steer the conversation, which we expected. I have been honestly surprised by how all of the local, national, and international media we have talked to so far has been shockingly "professional". One thing is cretin; I am very much looking forward to my return home from my trip to hold Alisha and have a nice long talk about what we have experienced thus far."

The public will be able to vote until Dec. 7 - Pearl Harbor day, incidentally - a couple of days before the Arnolds can legally get an abortion in Minnesota, according to the site.