On September 22, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr., released a report that falsely associates the intake of acetaminophen (more commonly and commercially called Tylenol), by pregnant women, with autism in their offspring. The Food and Drug Administration updated its drug labeling to accommodate the falsehood.
While making the relevant announcement at a press conference, Trump was flanked by RFK and Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz, a reality television star and failed candidate for Senate; all three have no professional experience or expertise in autism and neuroscience. Without evidence, Trump stated that in communities that lacked access to Tylenol, “no autism” was found. Trump also reiterated the classic lie, subscribed to by RFK and his allies, that vaccines cause autism.
The three cited a Harvard study done by epidemiologist Ann Bauer, who advised pregnant women to be cautious regarding the risks from acetaminophen. However, the researcher herself stated that the federal government exaggerated the significance of her findings.
“I’m a little concerned about how this message is going to come because I think they may be jumping the gun,” Bauer said before the announcement was made. “I think those of us in the research community would like to see stronger evidence.”
NPR
RFK dismissed the fact that there is not even correlational evidence for his claims; Tylenol use has remained far more static than the growth in autism diagnoses over the last twenty years.
Within that same press conference, Trump made claims that are patently insane. He claimed that there is no autism in the Amish community, nor is there autism in the country of Cuba; there have been diagnoses within those demographics.
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine has warned that pregnant women not taking Tylenol to treat fevers may be putting themself and their future child at risk, as “untreated fever can cause grave harms such as miscarriage, birth defects or premature birth, especially early in a pregnancy.” The pseudoscience now being proliferated by the federal government may have deadly consequences for women and children. This is despite Trump himself claiming to be pro-life in the context of the abortion debate.
