President Trump made unproven links between Tylenol and autism as he announced new efforts by his administration to study the causes of the neurodevelopmental disorder.
“Don’t take Tylenol,” President Trump instructed pregnant women several times during the rambling White House news conference on September 22, also urging mothers not to give their infants the drug. Tylenol is also known by its generic names, acetaminophen, in the U.S. and paracetamol in the U.K. and other countries.
Trump also urged not giving Tylenol to young children, but scientists say that research indicates autism develops in the fetal brain. Trump’s announcement fueled long-debunked claims that certain ingredients in vaccines or timing shots close together could contribute to rising rates of autism in the U.S., without offering any medical evidence to back up the claim.
The rambling announcement once again highlights both Trump’s and Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s obsession with autism and their trepidation about the childhood vaccine schedule. Supporters of Make America Healthy Again include several anti-vaccine activists who have long spread debunked claims that immunizations are the cause of autism.
Kenvue, the company that makes the brand Tylenol, disputed any link between acetaminophen and autism last Monday and said in a statement that if pregnant mothers don’t use Tylenol when in need, they could face a dangerous choice between suffering fevers or using other, riskier painkiller alternatives. Shares of Kenvue Inc. fell 7.5% in trading on Monday, reducing the company’s market value by about $2.6 billion.
Medical experts say Trump’s remarks were irresponsible. New York University bioethicist Art Caplan says it was “the saddest display of a lack of evidence, rumors, recycling old myths, lousy advice, outright lies, and dangerous advice I have ever witnessed by anyone in authority.”
Responding to Trump’s misguided warnings, Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, says that “acetaminophen is one of the few options available to pregnant patients to treat pain and fever, which can be harmful to pregnant people when left untreated. The conditions people use acetaminophen to treat during pregnancy are far more dangerous than any theoretical risks and can create severe morbidity and mortality for the pregnant person and the fetus.”
