Dick, I think you have answered your own question.
Fortunately, the FAA doesn’t have legislation which says that safety has to be “the most important consideration.”
Like most things in aviation, the meaning swings on the words and the interpretation thereof.
A dictionary says:
consideration
noun
1.
careful thought, typically over a period of time.
"your case needs very careful investigation and consideration"
synonyms: thought, deliberation, reflection, contemplation, cogitation, rumination, pondering, meditation, musing, mulling, examination, inspection, scrutiny, analysis, review, discussion; More
I dont believe there can be any suggestion that casa dont give things such as edto and other safety critical issues, “careful thought” and in most cases “typically over a period of time” much to the annoyance of people trying to actually achieve anything.
The things is the requirement is not to give safety the ONLY consideration.
If that was the case we would all be walking as aviation inherently carries more risk than wrapping yourself in a cocoon and staying in a locked room.
The trick is to manage risk appropriately and in the case of edto that is done with edto/etops design and certification rules, edto fuel policies, edto dispatch policies, edto pilot training, edto maintenance requirements, edto operational requirements etc etc etc.