The Value of a Sentient/Human Life

While reading many submissions and comments here on HN, I am often surprised at the diversity of opinion with respect to economic, health and societal issues. That's a great thing, as (at least for me) having a diversity of views helps to expand knowledge, provide points and counterpoints that bolster and challenge our views. Even, no especially, points of view with which I disagree are helpful as they provide an opportunity to both reassess my own views and provide an opportunity to focus and enhance those views with an eye toward better rhetoric and explication of those views. It's not necessarily an obvious thing, but based on this broad base of views, many seem to have roots in how we subjectively value sentient/human life. That may seem to be a stretch, but the theme has captured my attention in the past, but more poignantly of late. Which raises an (at least to me) important question: How do subjective valuations of human life affect one's views on society, public policy and our interaction with same, our understanding of the value/importance of our intersections with society and the choices we make in those situations? I hope for a robust discussion of how such subjective valuation impacts the views people hold and the actions they take. As such, I won't include my own predilections/thoughts on this in the submission, as I don't want to color anyone's perceptions/ideas about this topic prior to reading this through and forming/honing their own ideas about this topic.