I think it depends on you spiritual beliefs.

From strictly an evolutionary biological point of view individuals in a species don't really matter. It is the gene pool that matters. "The selfish gene" by Richard Dawkins proposes this. He is a pure atheist and thinks we are just biochemical machines that totally react to our environment by instinct and biochemistry. That free will is an illusion. His most recent famous book is "The God Delusion". The materialist have strong arguments. Dawkins is the best in the field of evolutionary biology.

I am a spiritualist so I don't buy those arguments even though I am big into science and believe in evolution. It is much harder for spiritualist to prove our views. The debate rages on.

I believe that all life on earth has inherent value. That we as individuals do have inherent value and worth. There is a whole lot to this universe than we are not able to perceive. Quantum physics and cosmology is coming up with all sorts of bizzare things that they cannot explain. From a purely scientific point of view these things tend to back up the spiritualist view.