The NYT is taking a swing at longtermism, the New Yorker is taking a swing at effective altruism, and this begs for a little numerical reasoning on the topic. If we must consider every life (even distant lives), and most lives haven't been lived yet, and most lives not yet lived will enjoy a higher quality of life than we do (rational optimism), doesn't protecting THOSE lives trump everything else?
https://ae.studio/blog/most-lives-havent-been-lived-yet#pg