U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made another far-fetched claim late last week linking Tylenol to autism in children.
President Donald Trump and Kennedy shocked health experts across the country in September with an announcement that linked use of Tylenol to autism in children. During a cabinet meeting last Thursday, Kennedy and Trump both repeated unfounded claims about a link between acetaminophen and autism.
Kennedy claimed, without offering any evidence, that children who are circumcised have higher rates of autism because they are given Tylenol.
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“There’s two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol,” Kennedy said.
Trump appeared to agree and then offered his comments as a “non-doctor.”
“There’s a tremendous amount of proof or evidence, I would say, as a non-doctor, but I’ve studied this a long time,” Trump replied.
Earlier in the meeting, Kennedy also described a video he saw of a pregnant woman “gobbling” Tylenol.
“This morning, before I came in here, somebody showed me a TikTok video of a pregnant woman, eight months pregnant, she is an associate professor at the Columbia Medical School, and she is saying F Trump and gobbling Tylenol with her baby in her placenta,” Kennedy said.
“The level of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ has now left political landscapes and it is now in the realm of pathology, and a mother could overwhelm millions of years of maternal instinct to put her baby at risk,” he added.
Trump also railed against Tylenol during the meeting, telling pregnant woman to not take the drug and to avoid giving it to children.
“But I would say don’t take Tylenol if you’re pregnant and … when the baby is born, don’t give it Tylenol,” Trump said.
Tylenol-maker Kenvue refuted Trump’s claims in a statement to NJ Advance Media last month after Trump made the initial announcement. Medical experts, including U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La.,, have emphasized that taking Tylenol remains a safe method to reduce pain and fevers in pregnancy.
The president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said Trump’s announcement was “not backed by the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children.”
“Suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients, including those who may need to rely on this beneficial medicine during pregnancy,” the president, Steven J. Fleischman, said in a statement last month.
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