WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appeared to offer a softer tone when it comes to the potential for a link between acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and autism –– even as he and President Donald Trump are leading the call in advising pregnant women to avoid the painkiller and fever reducer.
Addressing reporter questions at a press conference this week, Kennedy noted that the “causative association” between Tylenol given in pregnancy is “not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism.”
He went on, however, to make the case that a possible link is “very suggestive,” citing animal, blood and observational studies when comparing nations.
”So there should be a cautious approach to it,” the Health and Human Services chief continued, saying the administration’s overriding message on the issue is that expecting mothers should “consult your physician” on whether or not to take Tylenol.
Previously the personal recommendation expressed by Kennedy and the president was for pregnant women to avoid it at all costs, despite Tylenol being one of the few painkillers and fever reducers that doctors have said are safe for pregnant mothers to use, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Although Kennedy in the press conference this week did go on to say that the administration has asked physicians to “minimize” advising Tylenol’s use to only when “”absolutely necessary.”
The seemingly more measured remarks from the Health and Human Services secretary come just weeks after he and Trump gave a closely-watched press conference at the White House in which they announced that the administration had concluded that taking Tylenol when pregnant is contributing to a rise in autism. Trump in the press conference left little room for interpretation on his thoughts on the matter, telling pregnant women: “I just want to say it like it is: Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t take it.”
Kennedy, a longtime vaccine critic who has made autism a key focus of his work, had been promising for months to conduct a massive testing and research project to determine the cause of the developmental disability to be released in September. But the determination came despite years of research looking for a potential link between the two by medical researchers and health agencies in the U.S. and across the globe not leading to a scientific conclusion on the matter.
In the weeks since the formal announcement, Kennedy and Trump have charged ahead with their calls for expecting mothers to avoid the painkiller and fever reducer, with Trump doubling down on the message just days ago.
“Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON…” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday.
This week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, the makers of Tylenol, for “deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers despite knowing that early exposure to acetaminophen, Tylenol’s only active ingredient, leads to a significantly increased risk of autism and other disorders,” citing the Trump administration’s announcement in a statement.
Other officials in Trump’s administration took on a more cautious tone on the issue from the beginning with Vice President JD Vance saying whether a pregnant woman should take the drug should be considered “case by case,” while Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said it is “not a problem” if a physician prescribes the medicine to those with a high fever.
The administration’s initial announcement, which did not provide much space for exceptions, drew some push back from Republican senators as well.
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a physician who chairs the Senate committee focused on health, took to X to urge the Trump administration to release data to support its declared findings about the link between Tylenol and autism, adding that the “preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case.”
Meanwhile, a new study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology on Thursday found that babies born to mothers who had a COVID-19 infection while pregnant were more likely to be diagnosed with autism and other neurodevelopment disorders.
