White House Links Tylenol to Autism; FDA Issues Warning

At a Sept. 22 White House event, President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asserted a link between prenatal acetaminophen (Tylenol) use and autism, urged pregnant women to limit use, and announced steps to make leucovorin more widely available as a potential treatment. The FDA issued new warning language for acetaminophen products noting a possible association with ADHD and autism, a move public-health experts say may lead some pregnant people to avoid a drug otherwise considered the safest option for fever and pain in pregnancy. Scientists, major medical organizations and international regulators sharply criticized the claims, saying current evidence is inconclusive and that genetics, broader diagnostic criteria and increased awareness largely explain rising autism rates. Researchers and clinicians warned that untreated maternal fever and avoiding recommended therapies could pose greater risks to fetuses than judicious acetaminophen use and urged rigorous study rather than public alarm. Autistic people, advocates and many parents said the administration’s rhetoric stigmatizes autistic lives and sows guilt, and experts emphasized that leucovorin is not an established cure and requires much more evidence.