Awake Again, Naturally

THE DETROIT NEWS, Feb. 10 — A Detroit-area woman who suffered massive brain injuries that left her in a coma last fall has awakened.

Kelly Barker, 35, was hit by a pickup truck Sept. 1. Doctors told her family she had little hope of regaining consciousness. Her parents agonized over whether to remove her from life support, the newspaper reported.

Then, last November, she spontaneously sat up and started to get out of bed. Now she is joking, hugging and learning to walk again.

Doctors say they have no scientific explanation for Barker's recovery. Her mother, however, said she knows exactly what happened. “I want everyone to know that prayers are answered and miracles do happen,” she said. “Kelly is living proof.”

Billboard Battle

THE CAPITAL JOURNAL (South Dakota), Feb. 18 — A couple from Pierre, S.D., has filed an appeal to the state Supreme Court after being denied approval to place a pro-life billboard on their private property.

Harvey and Karen Buhl asked the local board of adjustment for a variance to allow for placement of the sign, but it was denied last April. The board said the sign was off-site advertising, which is not allowed where the Buhls' property is located. A circuit court judge in October said the board's denial was constitutional.

Joan Boos Schueller, the couple's attorney, contended the billboard was denied because of its pro-life message. By not allowing the sign, she said, the courts are violating the Buhls' First Amendment free-speech rights.

Blessed Gianna Ascends

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, Feb. 20 — Pope John Paul II gave his approval Feb. 19 for the canonization of Blessed Gianna Beretta Molla, an Italian woman who decided to forgo treatment for cancer in order to save her unborn baby. The canonization ceremony is set for May 16.

Blessed Gianna was pregnant with her fourth child when doctors discovered a tumor in her uterus and told her it would be dangerous to continue with the pregnancy. A pediatrician herself, she fully understood the risk — and ignored her physicians' advice anyway.

A few days after giving birth to a healthy daughter, Blessed Gianna died on April 28, 1962, at age 39.

‘Morning-After’ Delayed

After interviewing, videotaping and collecting physiological data from more than 600 couples, they found that, if positive or affirming remarks during arguments don't outnumber negative or contradicting ones by at least 5 to 1, the marriage is headed for trouble.

CYBERCAST NEWS SERVICE, Feb. 16 — The FDA's announcement Feb. 13 that it would delay until May 1 its decision to allow over-the-counter sale of the “morning-after” pill Plan B has met with cautious optimism from pro-life groups.

Pro-lifers have pointed out the drug's adverse health effects — including ectopic pregnancies, blood clotting and loss of fertility — since an FDA committee recommended in December the drug be made available over the counter.

The drug has also been shown to be an abortifacient, preventing a fertilized embryo from implanting in its mother's womb.