CRANBERRY TWP — Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum today told students and guests at Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School that every life is a gift and should be celebrated.

Santorum's talk at the school was one of many he is making to promote his recently released book “Bella's Gift.” Co-authored with his wife, Karen, the book tells the story of their daughter Bella, who has Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards Syndrome.

Santorum said he is on a tour promoting the book and sharing his message of respecting the dignity of human life. He not only shares an anti-abortion message, but a message that people who are ill, aging or living with a chronic condition should be respected and celebrated.

He said he has yet to decide on whether he will run in 2016 for the Republican nomination for president. He ran for that nomination in 2012.

“We're going to make a decision this spring or summer. We're going to be out testing our message and seeing if there are people who would support me, both financially and by voting for us,” he said.

He noted that there are 20 potential candidates for the GOP nomination, though the list just got one smaller when Mitt Romney recently announced he would not run again.

Regarding his book and his daughter, the Santorum family was told in 2008 that Bella, who now is 6 years old, would not live more than a couple of months.

Trisomy 18 is a disorder where the cells in the body have two extra 18th chromosomes. Only 1 percent of children diagnosed with the disorder survive to their first birthday due to abortion or complications after birth, he said.

“She is a miracle by every stretch of the word,” he said.

Bella is unable to walk, talk, feed herself or do much on her own. But that does not mean her life is not important, he said.

“The only thing Bella can do for me is what she does — she loves me, that's it. That's all Bella can do,” he said.

Santorum was a U.S. senator from 1995 to 2007.

He lived in Butler for 10 years during his youth, while his parents worked at the federal Veteran's Administration facility in Butler Township.

While living in Butler, he attended Butler Catholic School and Butler High School.