Jan. 22 is observed by Catholics across the United States as the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. It is a day to mourn lives lost through abortion, but also to ask a deeper question: do we truly believe every human life has value?

Tom and Lena Hudson of Wauconda, Illinois, are the parents of nine children. Their seventh child, Sarah, was born weighing just four pounds and diagnosed with Trisomy 18, a severe genetic condition. Sarah cannot speak or walk. She cannot sit up for long. She is prone to illness and requires constant care. From the moment she was born, her mother had to feed her through special medical devices simply to keep her alive.

By modern standards, Sarah’s life might be called limited. But in her family, she is treasured.

“Sarah is our pathway to heaven,” her mother once said. Sarah loves to laugh, and her joy fills their home. Her fragile life radiates love and meaning.

That is what defending life looks like.

We live in a culture that increasingly decides which lives are worth living. Unborn children are denied legal protection. The elderly and disabled are treated as burdens. Suffering is often seen as a reason to eliminate life rather than to love it.

Pope Benedict XVI said it plainly: God wants life, not death. We are called to choose the same.

Every life is precious. Every life is a miracle. Every life matters.

Walter J. Zapotoczny II

Altoona