Erin Grant and Lilyana Vasquez
The Southern Editors
A simple sentence from the president can ripple through the country and feed dangerous rumors that change lives. In a press conference held on Sept. 22, President Donald Trump announced that acetaminophen, commonly known as Tylenol, causes autism. While factually untrue, this declaration spreads dangerous misinformation, undermines science and disrespects the experiences of those on the spectrum.
The White House framed the announcement as a public health fact, rather than an unfounded opinion. Officials even went as far as to claim the administration will pursue label changes linking pregnant women’s use of Tylenol to autism in their babies.
In the wake of this statement, a now deleted tweet surfaced from Tylenol’s parent company Kenvue where they had said “We actually don’t recommend using any of our products while pregnant.” The company clarified in an article form the New York Times that this post was “incomplete” and “taken out of context.”
According to the Food and Drug Administration, acetaminophen is the only over-the-counter drug approved to safely treat fever during pregnancy. By inciting fear around this drug, Trump has sentenced hundreds of women to discomfort and potential danger during their pregnancies.
This isn’t the first time Trump has expected his opinion to override scientific fact. From suggesting bleach injections during COVID-19 to repeatedly arguing that vaccines cause autism, Trump has a long track record of spreading misinformation.
The science is clear. The European Medicines Agency, the agency responsible for the monitoring of medicine in the EU, assures consumers that “available evidence has found no link between the use of [Tylenol] during pregnancy and autism.” Another scientific consensus disproving Trump.
It is hard to believe that Trump was able to find evidence himself that Tylenol is dangerous to unborn children when in the 70 years since Tylenol went on the market, doctors haven’t found anything to support that.
Although the World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jašarević noted that there are “some observational studies” that suggest a possible link between acetaminophen and autism, the “evidence remains inconsistent.”
“If the link between acetaminophen and autism were strong, it would likely have been consistently observed across multiple studies,” Jašarević said.
While spreading misinformation is bad no matter who you are, Trump’s position of power and authority makes the situation even more dire. Spreading this untrue message to his legion of supporters can cause real harm. It could scare pregnant women from utilizing safe medications that they need to manage pain, putting both them and their child at risk. Untreated fever in pregnancy increases the risk of birth defects to the unborn child, so to many women, Tylenol is a necessary treatment.
It also adds unnecessary stigma to autism, framing it as something negative that parents caused, rather than a complex disorder heavily influenced by genetics. What’s more, Trump’s statement deepens public distrust in the government and private healthcare facilities at a time when we need trust the most.
Trump isn’t the only one making outlandish medical claims. The statement against Tylenol was backed up by US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy and head of Medicare and Medicaid Dr. Mehmet Oz. These actions fall into a pattern of political figures and influencers undermining science for attention and headlines.
So what should we do? First, reporters and the media should stop using provocative and dangerous statements from politicians for headlines to turn a quick dollar. Then, researchers should respond to these unfounded claims with transparent, evidence-based information to combat fear and spread factual information. Finally, medical professionals should work to educate expecting parents one-on-one about the potential risk (if there is any) of using Tylenol. Nothing is ever going to change if we as citizens don’t demand that elected officials remain focused on American politics and leave the scientific questions to the experts.
Trump’s misuse of scientific correlations has a big impact on the country and specifically on pregnant women. Our country deserves a president who understands and respects the importance of supporting scientific professionals. Until then, any claim that Tylenol is to blame for autism should be frowned upon and treated with skepticism. Regardless of the evidence, it is the choice of each parent. All anyone can do is support them in that decision.
