{"id":258414,"date":"2025-11-02T22:08:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T22:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/258414\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T22:08:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T22:08:17","slug":"theres-no-tylenol-autism-link-and-rfk-jr-seems-to-know-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/258414\/","title":{"rendered":"There’s no Tylenol, autism link and RFK Jr. seems to know it"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is yet another example of how utterly unqualified Kennedy is to be in charge of America’s health, and it’s what we get when a president staffs his Cabinet with quacks and conspiracy theorists.<\/p>\n

\"play\"<\/p>\n

RFK Jr. says ‘not sufficient’ proof linking Tylenol and autism<\/p>\n

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told reporters there is ‘not sufficient’ proof linking Tylenol and autism.<\/p>\n

Little more than a month after making specious claims that there\u2019s a link between Tylenol use and autism, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has now admitted there\u2019s \u201cnot sufficient\u201d evidence<\/a> to support the medical nonsense he and President Donald Trump<\/a> loudly and proudly promoted.<\/p>\n

“The causative association between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal period is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism. But it is very suggestive,\u201d Kennedy said Oct. 29<\/a>.<\/p>\n

OK, great. So the nation\u2019s top health official is dispensing medical advice based on vibes?<\/p>\n

This is yet another example of how utterly unqualified Kennedy is to be in charge of America\u2019s health, and it\u2019s what we get when a president staffs his Cabinet with quacks and conspiracy theorists.<\/p>\n

Trump, Kennedy exuded dangerous confidence in linking autism to Tylenol and acetaminophen\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Sept. 22, Kennedy and Trump stood together and held a news conference<\/a> that Trump had wildly billed as presenting \u201can answer to autism.\u201d<\/p>\n

After Trump babbled, with great certainty, that Tylenol is \u201cassociated with a very increased risk of autism,\u201d Kennedy proudly announced<\/a>: \u201cToday, the (Food and Drug Administration) will issue a physician’s notice about the risk of acetaminophen during pregnancy and begin the process to initiate a safety label change. HHS will launch a nationwide public service campaign to inform families and protect public health.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was, of course, baloney. Tylenol is safe<\/a>, no reputable scientific or medical association supports claims of a connection between autism and Tylenol use during pregnancy, and the Kennedy\/Trump announcement was widely panned as dangerous bunk<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Opinion: I’m autistic. Trump and RFK Jr. must stop treating us like a plague to be eradicated.<\/a><\/p>\n

Dr. Steven Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement<\/a> at the time: \u201cSuggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sadly, many Americans bought into Kennedy’s lies about Tylenol<\/p>\n

What the news conference did was stir up unnecessary fear and uncertainty in the minds of pregnant women and families of children with autism. It promoted false medical information to the masses with an air of authority, and polling now shows the extent of the damage.<\/p>\n

A KFF tracking poll released earlier this month<\/a> found that 77% of Americans had heard about Kennedy\u2019s B.S. claims \u201cthat taking Tylenol during pregnancy increases the risk of the child developing autism.\u201d<\/p>\n

When parents start believing RFK Jr.<\/a>‘s medical advice, we have a problem<\/p>\n

Among all respondents who are parents, a whopping 36% believe those claims are probably true<\/a>. Among Republicans overall, 50% believe the garbage Trump and Kennedy peddled.<\/p>\n

Previously: Trump’s dishonest rambling about Tylenol, autism shows how irresponsible he is | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

That is, in medical terms, not good. And making it worse is the fact that anyone trusting Trump and Kennedy on health matters relating to Tylenol is also liable to be sucked into their dangerous and false beliefs that vaccines cause autism.<\/p>\n

Simply put: When dumb people are in charge of important things, dumb stuff happens.<\/p>\n

Kennedy doubled down on the Tylenol, autism link \u2013 up until he didn’t<\/p>\n

During an Oct. 9 Cabinet meeting \u2013 shortly after that initial press conference where Trump repeated the words<\/a> \u201cDon’t take Tylenol!\u201d an ominous number of times \u2013 Kennedy said<\/a>: \u201cAnybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy unless they have to, is irresponsible. It is not proof. We\u2019re doing the studies to make the proof.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yeah, that\u2019s not how studies work.<\/p>\n

At that same meeting, Kennedy drove straight into Crazytown and said<\/a>: \u201cThere are two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It\u2019s highly likely because they\u2019re given Tylenol.\u201d<\/p>\n

No. No it\u2019s not.<\/p>\n

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don’t have the app? Download it for free from your app store<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If the dude at the end of the bar was saying this crap, you\u2019d move to a booth or to another bar. But remember, this is the actual U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services saying it.<\/p>\n

Trump is still parroting RFK Jr.’s unproven Tylenol claims. So is Texas.<\/p>\n

Based on Kennedy\u2019s new comment that there\u2019s \u201cnot sufficient\u201d evidence to prove a link between Tylenol and autism, the whole reckless charade seems to be falling apart.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s particularly funny when you consider that Trump hasn\u2019t stopped babbling about it since the initial press conference. As recently as Oct. 26, the president posted on social media<\/a>: \u201cPregnant Women, DON\u2019T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON\u2019T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON.\u201d<\/p>\n

And Texas\u2019 Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, filed a lawsuit against the makers of Tylenol<\/a> on Oct. 28. It includes this gem<\/a> \u2012 \u201cThe reckoning has arrived. Last month, the federal government confirmed what Defendants knew for years: acetaminophen use during pregnancy likely causes conditions like ASD and ADHD. Given how widely acetaminophen is used and how prevalent these conditions are, Defendants face tens of billions of dollars in damages to permanently injured children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another view: Texas AG sues makers of Tylenol in obvious ploy to get MAGA to save his campaign | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

That suit was probably going to be laughed out of court anyway, but Kennedy\u2019s new comments about a lack of evidence make the laughing all but a certainty.<\/p>\n

Still, I don\u2019t find myself chuckling much at Kennedy\u2019s buffoonery. As that polling showed, people listen to him and Trump. And people are going to get sick \u2013 or worse \u2013 because these two ignorant, dishonest old men think they know what they\u2019re talking about.<\/p>\n

Follow\u00a0USA TODAY columnist Rex Huppke\u00a0on Bluesky at\u00a0@rexhuppke.bsky.social<\/a>\u00a0and on Facebook at\u00a0facebook.com\/RexIsAJerk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This is yet another example of how utterly unqualified Kennedy is to be in charge of America’s health,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[64,63,13234,28133,70910,51798,24537,36899,20705,1791,13885,2490,1730,6022,21695,28135,7775,137,3163,30916,2351,5584,8122,8132,490,5418,36227,79421,79424,1721,152188,21102,36898,323,54447,152187,152190,84,8123,24297,1847,1792,39,3281,441,13889,152189],"class_list":["post-258414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-medication","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-autism","tag-branch","tag-center","tag-collection","tag-columnists","tag-columnists-opinions","tag-conditions","tag-content","tag-donald","tag-donald-trump","tag-drugs","tag-drugs-u0026-medications","tag-executive","tag-executive-branch","tag-f","tag-health","tag-jr","tag-kennedy","tag-left","tag-literature","tag-medical","tag-medical-literature-u0026-resources","tag-medication","tag-medications","tag-negative","tag-neurological","tag-neurological-conditions","tag-opinion","tag-opinion-collection","tag-opinion-content","tag-opinions","tag-overall","tag-overall-negative","tag-politically","tag-politically-center-left","tag-politics","tag-resources","tag-robert","tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr","tag-sharing","tag-top-stories","tag-trump","tag-u0026","tag-usat","tag-usat-content-sharing-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}