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President Trump Claims Tylenol Increases Risk of Autism, Medical Community Pushes Back
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The President announced FDA will no longer recommend the use of the common painkiller during pregnancy, despite a casual link between the medication and autism not being established.
President Trump's claims about a connection between autism and Tylenol are being challenged by the medical community.
The global medical community is pushing back against claims made by President Trump about the supposed risks of taking Tylenol while pregnant.
How did President Trump link autism to Tylenol?
After weeks of rumors, President Trump officially announced that FDA will notify doctors that use of the common painkiller during pregnancy carries a “very increased risk of autism.”1 The announcement came during a press conference during which the President struggled to pronounce the word “acetaminophen” while reading prepared remarks. The President continued to say that childhood vaccinations should be spaced out and that the Hepatitis B show should not be given to newborns.
The following health officials joined the President during the press conference:
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr
- FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary
- NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
- Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Adminstrator Dr. Mehmet Oz
In a separate statement made directly through FDA,2 Commissioner Makary said, “The FDA is taking action to make parents and doctors aware of a considerable body of evidence about potential risks associated with acetaminophen. Even with this body of evidence, the choice still belongs with parents. The precautionary principle may lead many to avoid using acetaminophen during pregnancy, especially since most low-grade fevers don’t require treatment. It remains reasonable, however, for pregnant women to use acetaminophen in certain scenarios.”
However, the statement from FDA continues to note that while it has established an association between Tylenol usage during pregnancy and autism, a casual relationship has not been established.
Tylenol is a common painkiller and has historically been promoted as the only safe over-the-counter medication to treat pain and fever during pregnancy. As such, a very high percentage of pregnant women take Tylenol during pregnancy.
In a statement obtained by CNN,1 Tylenol-maker Kenvue pushed back on the administration’s claims. It said, “Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy. Without it, women face dangerous choices: suffer through conditions like fever that are potentially harmful to both mom and baby or use riskier alternatives. High fevers and pain are widely recognized as potential risks to a pregnancy if left untreated.”
Public health organizations also joined in on pushing back against the claims. In a statement obtained by the BBC,3 The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ president Dr. Steven Fleischman argued that the claims are not backed by the full body of scientific evidence. He continued to explain that the President’s statements oversimplify the complex causes of neurologic challenges in children.
BBC also reports that health officials in the UK do not share President Trump’s views and will continue to label Tylenol (known as paracetamol in the region) as the safest painkiller for pregnant women.
This move is part of the administration’s apparent push to find the cause of a supposed rise in autism in Americans. It’s important to note, however, the cause for the increase in the number of people diagnosed with autism is heavily debated. It’s also important to note that the rise can at least partially be attributed to public health programs in America that have increased screenings during wellness visits, as this report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health identifies.4 Another cause cited in the report is the increase in the number of conditions that now fall under the autism spectrum disorder umbrella.
The report also states research into the number of people diagnosed with severe cases of autism that require caregiver support has not increased in a significant way in the past 10 years.
Sources
- Trump links autism to acetaminophen use during pregnancy, despite decades of evidence it’s safe. CNN. September 22, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/22/health/trump-autism-announcement-cause-tylenol
- FDA Responds to Evidence of Possible Association Between Autism and Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy. FDA. September 22, 2025. https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-responds-evidence-possible-association-between-autism-and-acetaminophen-use-during-pregnancy
- Trump makes unproven link between autism and Tylenol. BBC. September 23, 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx20d4lr67lo
- Is There an Autism Epidemic? Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. June 6, 2025. Accessed September 23, 2025. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/is-there-an-autism-epidemic
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