Trump Rails Against Tylenol But Autism Claims Not Supported By Science

Donald Trump has, allegedly, recovered “the reply to autism”: Tylenol.

On Monday, Trump announced that pregnant women should dramatically limit their usage of acetaminophen, known by nan marque sanction Tylenol aliases internationally arsenic paracetamol, because, he claimed, it raises nan consequence of autism.

This declare is not supported by science. Research into links betwixt acetaminophen usage during gestation and autism person not proved a causal relationship, while aesculapian experts wide work together that increasing diagnoses of autism cannot beryllium traced backmost to a singular cause.

Acetaminophen tin beryllium utilized to alleviate fever and symptom during pregnancy. Leaving those conditions untreated tin transportation “significant maternal and babe wellness risks”, according to a connection from nan Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine. Untreated fevers, for example, tin lead to miscarriage, commencement defects and premature births.

Trump’s announcement was a triumph for wellness caput Robert F Kennedy Jr, who has a way grounds of making unproven claims astir autism and autistic people. Yet it was besides nan latest move successful different emerging run wrong nan Trump administration: 1 that seeks to valorize “natural” gestation and motherhood – that is, gestation and motherhood without proven aesculapian interventions – to nan constituent wherever it tin corrode women’s wellness and safety.

Over nan past respective months, nan Trump administration has taken steps to undermine pregnant women’s entree to Covid vaccines and antidepressants. These steps person been successful defiance of wide statement among aesculapian experts that nan benefits of these therapeutics thin to outweigh nan risks. In May, Kennedy, who has agelong questioned nan information of vaccines, said that he “couldn’t beryllium much pleased to announce” that nan CDC would nary longer urge that patient pregnant women get vaccinated against Covid.

Then, complete nan summer, nan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a sheet astir antidepressant usage during pregnancy. Predominantly staffed pinch group who person a history of antidepressant skepticism aliases who person been consultants successful litigation complete antidepressants, nan sheet heavy emphasized nan risks of taking antidepressants during pregnancy. One of nan panelists, a scientist named Roger McFillin, said that slump “has devolved into an umbrella term” and “doesn’t moreover person meaning immoderate more”.

“Are women conscionable people experiencing their emotions much intensely?” he asked. “Those are gifts. They’re not symptoms of a disease.”

They very good whitethorn beryllium symptoms of a disease. Mental wellness conditions lend to almost a 3rd of each pregnancy-related deaths successful nan US, according to a 2025 report from nan Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Of deaths involving intelligence wellness struggles, astir a 3rd were suicides.

Covid, too, endangers women’s lives – and those of their babies. A 2021 study of 2,100 pregnant women astir nan world recovered that women who contracted Covid during gestation were 20 times much apt to dice compared to those that did not drawback nan virus. More than 11% of women who contracted Covid besides had their babies trial affirmative for Covid.

While nan Trump management casts uncertainty connected whether women should usage life-saving remedies to protect themselves against Covid and depression, Republicans person successful caller months moved to clasp astatine slightest 1 benignant of intervention: “restorative reproductive medicine” (RRM), a constellation of therapies that purport to “restore” individuals’ “natural” fertility without resorting to successful vitro fertilization (IVF).

Advocates of RRM opportunity they are moving to coming women pinch much options, but pre-eminent aesculapian groups specified arsenic nan American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and nan American Society for Reproductive Medicine opportunity that location is small grounds that RRM techniques activity – and that it is efficaciously “a pseudonym for a basal infertility evaluation”, arsenic one reproductive endocrinologist told nan Guardian this summer.

These moves – nan attacks connected pregnant women’s entree to Tylenol, to Covid vaccines, to antidepressants; nan insistence that women should get pregnant without IVF – each adhere to a basal fallacy known arsenic “the entreaty to nature”, aliases nan thought that thing that comes from nan world is amended than thing human-made.

This thought powers overmuch of nan “Make America Healthy Again” movement, of which Kennedy is efficaciously nan czar. It is besides patently false.

There are reasons why you are not expected to portion unpasteurized, aliases “raw”, milk. (They’re called campylobacter, cryptosporidium, E coli, listeria, brucella, and salmonella.) And location are reasons why a mini trim aliases a stubbed toed is nary longer a decease sentence. (They’re called antibiotics.)

When mixed pinch pregnancy, nan illogic of nan entreaty to quality is stretched moreover further, folding successful connected itself for illustration Laffy Taffy. Not only should gestation – and nan women who do it – beryllium handled arsenic “naturally” arsenic possible, but gestation and motherhood are themselves women’s earthy states.

Authoritarian governments passim history person sought to person their group that this is true, successful bid to subjugate women and to guarantee that women are reliable sources of reproduction. That’s why nan Trump administration’s thrust to diminish pregnant women’s entree to Tylenol can’t beryllium divided from, say, its pronatalist liking successful encouraging women to person much babies done $5,000 “baby bonuses”.

Ultimately, each this whitethorn lead to less options and much symptom for women – including those who find parenthood fulfilling, those who are uninterested successful it, and those who are everyplace successful between. In fact, without Tylenol, that symptom whitethorn go rather literal.

“All this unit to go a mother and beryllium a mother is emerging politically, but you’re not expected to request immoderate thief aliases support,” nan journalist Amy Larocca, writer of nan book How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure astatine a Time, said successful an question and reply earlier this year. “You’re expected to beryllium capable to negociate it each connected your ain and [have] nary maternity leave, nary aesculapian care, nary support.”

She added: “There’s a batch of shaming of women who request thief and support.”