{"id":154976,"date":"2025-11-26T17:22:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T17:22:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/154976\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T17:22:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T17:22:15","slug":"rfk-jr-claims-he-tried-to-keep-trump-from-warning-pregnant-women-off-tylenol-theres-nuance-to-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/154976\/","title":{"rendered":"RFK Jr. claims he tried to keep Trump from warning pregnant women off Tylenol: ‘There\u2019s nuance to it’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed in an interview published Monday that he warned President Trump to be cautious after briefing the commander in chief about research finding<\/a> a possible link between pregnant women taking Tylenol and an increased risk of autism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The president initially suggested the administration quickly put out a dramatic warning on social media, the HHS secretary recalled in a lengthy Atlantic profile piece<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t do that,\u201d Kennedy recounted telling Trump in response.<\/p>\n

President Trump was inclined to put out a warning about Tylenol quicker than he did. Yuri Gripas \u2013 Pool via CNP<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nuance to it, and you can\u2019t scare people away from Tylenol, and you\u2019re going to get a huge amount of pushback from powerful pharmaceutical companies.\u201d <\/p>\n

Trump reportedly waved off RFK Jr.\u2019s concerns, telling his Cabinet member: \u201cI don\u2019t give a s\u2014 about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump, Kennedy, and other federal health officials briefed the public Sept. 22 about their concerns with the popular pain relief medicine.<\/p>\n

Tylenol is one of the few options pregnant women have for pain relief. AP<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t take Tylenol. Don\u2019t take it,\u201d Trump declared. \u201cFight like hell not to take it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Most medical experts were appalled by the move, stressing that Tylenol was one of the few safe pain relief options<\/a> available to pregnant women.<\/p>\n

Kennedy himself had acknowledged that high fevers in pregnant women are known to have adverse effects on unborn children.<\/p>\n

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claims there was nuance in the concerns about Tylenol. AP<\/p>\n

The 71-year-old\u2019s interest in the drug was sparked by an August review study by Andrea Baccarelli, the dean of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health<\/a>, that rounded up existing research on links between acetaminophen \u2014 the main ingredient in Tylenol \u2014 and rising autism rates.<\/p>\n

That study was not definitive about any possible connection.<\/p>\n

According to the Atlantic, Kennedy pored over 70 different studies on the topic and consulted several experts before briefing Trump.<\/p>\n

We actually don’t recommend using any of our products while pregnant. Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns today.<\/p>\n

\u2014 TYLENOL\u00ae (@tylenol) March 7, 2017<\/a><\/p>\n

Tylenol previously posted on social media in 2017 that it doesn\u2019t advise using its products while pregnant, a warning that went viral in response to the Sept. 22 announcement.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, publicly split with the Trump administration<\/a> over the announcement.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHHS should release the new data that it has to support this claim,\u201d Cassidy wrote on social media at the time. \u201cThe preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kennedy and Cassidy, a trained gastroenterologist, have had lively disagreements over vaccines, the Atlantic revealed.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find that he often will send me the same article more than once,\u201d Cassidy revealed to the outlet, adding that when he would highlight \u201cstatistical flaws\u201d in some of those pieces, Kennedy would shrug them off as \u201cimmaterial.\u201d<\/p>\n

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