Administration Links Prenatal Tylenol to Autism; Critics Push Back

President Donald Trump and HHS officials this week linked prenatal acetaminophen (Tylenol) use to a higher risk of autism and urged pregnant women to avoid the drug unless medically necessary, a stance the White House reinforced by reposting a 2017 Tylenol warning. Major medical organizations, practicing clinicians, researchers and the drugmaker Kenvue pushed back, saying studies showing associations are observational, inconsistent, limited by confounding and do not establish causation. Leaders at ACOG and other physicians warned that telling pregnant women to “tough it out” is reckless because untreated fever can harm a fetus and acetaminophen is often the safest option for pain or fever in pregnancy. Republican senators including John Thune and Bill Cassidy, along with state health officials, criticized the federal messaging and called for careful, science‑based guidance. The dispute has reignited public debate and social‑media protest, while some hospitals said they would wait for peer‑reviewed evidence before changing practice. The FDA is reportedly considering updating label language to note possible associations without declaring a causal link.