American Notes Baltimore

If she ever became so ill that only machines could keep her alive, Jacqueline Cole, 44, told her husband Presbyterian Minister Harry Cole, she wanted him to pull the plug. Last spring Cole, 44, suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and fell into a coma. Her husband waited 41 days for her to recover, then asked Maryland Judge John Carroll Byrnes to order doctors to let the comatose woman die. Byrnes said no, it was too soon to give up hope.

Six days later Jacqueline Cole awoke, smiled and returned her husband's joyous kiss. "Miracles can and do occur," said the happy minister. "I guess we've muddied the waters surrounding the question of a person's right to die." His wife is walking with the help of a metal frame, her memory slowly returning. Doctors hope to send her home in six weeks.