Not all EAs, or even all utilitarians, believe in total utilitarianism. The person-affecting view is much more intuitive for most people, and by that metric, saving QALYs of people already alive is qualitatively distinct from adding more QALYs by popping out more kids (even after adjusting for the second-order effects).
Not all EAs, or even all utilitarians, believe in total utilitarianism. The person-affecting view is much more intuitive for most people, and by that metric, saving QALYs of people already alive is qualitatively distinct from adding more QALYs by popping out more kids (even after adjusting for the second-order effects).