{"id":108093,"date":"2025-10-30T02:40:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-30T02:40:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/108093\/"},"modified":"2025-10-30T02:40:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-30T02:40:07","slug":"rfk-jr-walks-back-trump-administrations-claims-linking-tylenol-and-autism-donald-trump-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/108093\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr walks back Trump administration\u2019s claims linking Tylenol and autism | Donald Trump News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__subhead\">Kennedy, a top health official, urges \u2018cautious approach\u2019 after Trump baselessly claimed taking Tylenol is linked autism in children.<\/p>\n<p>United States Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has partially walked back his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/9\/23\/trump-urges-pregnant-women-to-avoid-tylenol-over-unproven-autism-risk\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">warning<\/a> that taking Tylenol during pregnancy is directly linked to autism in children.<\/p>\n<p>In a news conference on Wednesday, Kennedy struck a more moderate tone than he generally has in his past public appearances.<\/p>\n<p>Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe causative association between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal periods is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism,\u201d Kennedy told reporters. \u201cBut it\u2019s very suggestive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere should be a cautious approach to it,\u201d he added. \u201c\u200aThat\u2019s why our message to patients, to mothers, to people who are pregnant and to the mothers of young children is: Consult your physician.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Wednesday\u2019s statement is closer in line with the guidance of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/video\/newsfeed\/2025\/9\/23\/trump-slammed-over-linking-autism-with-paracetamol-and-pregnancy\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">reputable health agencies<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>While some studies have raised the possibility of a link between Tylenol and autism, there have been no conclusive findings. Pregnant women are advised to consult a doctor before taking the medication.<\/p>\n<p>The World Health Organization reiterated the point in September, noting that \u201cno consistent association has been established\u201d between the medication and autism, despite \u201cextensive research\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>But claims to the contrary have already prompted efforts to limit the availability of Tylenol, a popular brand of acetaminophen, a fever- and pain-reducing medication.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a lawsuit accusing Johnson &amp; Johnson and Kenvue, the companies behind the over-the-counter pain reliever, of deceptive practices.<\/p>\n<p>In doing so, he reiterated misinformation shared by President Donald Trump and government officials like Kennedy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again,\u201d Paxton said in a statement, giving a nod to Kennedy\u2019s MAHA slogan.<\/p>\n<p>The suit alleges that Johnson &amp; Johnson and Kenvue violated Texas consumer protection laws by having \u201cdeceptively marketed Tylenol as the only safe painkiller for pregnant women\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>It was the latest instance of scientific misinformation being perpetuated by top officials. Both Trump and Kennedy have repeatedly spread scientific misinformation throughout their political careers.<\/p>\n<p>Trump linked autism and the painkiller during a news conference in September, without providing reputable scientific findings to back the claim.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Using] acetaminophen \u2013 is that OK? \u2013 which is basically, commonly known as Tylenol, during pregnancy can be associated with a very increased risk of autism,\u201d Trump said on September 22. \u201cSo taking Tylenol is not good. I\u2019ll say it. It\u2019s not good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy has offered his own sweeping statements about Tylenol and its alleged risks, despite having no professional medical background.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnyone who takes this stuff during pregnancy, unless they have to, is irresponsible,\u201d he said in a cabinet meeting on October 9.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy also mischaracterised studies on male circumcision earlier this month. He <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/10\/21\/fact-checking-rfk-jrs-false-claim-linking-autism-to-circumcision\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">falsely<\/a> said the studies showed an increase in autism among children who were \u201ccircumcised early\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s highly likely because they\u2019re given Tylenol,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Kenvue stressed in a statement on Tuesday that acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women, noting that high fevers and pain are potential risks to pregnancies if left untreated.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support,\u201d Kenvue said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kennedy, a top health official, urges \u2018cautious approach\u2019 after Trump baselessly claimed taking Tylenol is linked autism in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":108094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[65,266,134,524,111,43,139,69,7679,1430,1431],"class_list":{"0":"post-108093","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-medication","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-government","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-medication","12":"tag-new-zealand","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-science-and-technology","17":"tag-united-states","18":"tag-us-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}