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President Donald Trump has urged pregnant women to debar taking Tylenol, pointing to an unproven assertion that links the painkiller to autism.
Speaking from the Oval Office with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, Trump claimed that acetaminophen, the main constituent successful Tylenol – besides known arsenic paracetamol successful astir parts of the satellite – was “no good” and should lone beryllium utilized successful gestation erstwhile there’s a precocious fever.
He past outlined steps his medication would instrumentality to restrict the usage of the cause during pregnancy, successful comments laced with unproven – and, successful immoderate cases, mendacious – claims.
Here is what helium said, and what the facts say, astir the drug, autism and whether Cuba, arsenic Trump claimed astatine 1 point, does not person autism.
What did Trump announce?
Trump opened the lawsuit by calling autism a “horrible, horrible crisis”.
“The meteoric emergence successful autism is among the astir alarming nationalist wellness developments successful history. There’s ne'er been thing similar this,” Trump said, adjacent though experts constituent retired that the information connected autism lone captures accrued diagnoses – not needfully a emergence successful the incidence of autism itself.
Trump past laid retired his administration’s plans to tackle the “crisis”.
“First, effectual immediately, the FDA volition beryllium notifying physicians that the usage of a – well, let’s spot however we accidental that acetaminophen – is that OK? Which is fundamentally commonly known arsenic Tylenol during pregnancy, tin beryllium associated with a precise accrued hazard of autism,” helium said.
He went connected to pass that Tylenol usage during gestation should beryllium avoided unless perfectly necessary.
“So taking Tylenol is not good. All right. I’ll accidental it. It’s not good. For this reason, they are powerfully recommending that women bounds Tylenol usage during gestation unless medically necessary. That’s, for instance, successful cases of highly precocious fever, that you consciousness you can’t pugnacious it out. You can’t bash it. I conjecture there’s that.”
US President Donald Trump, adjacent to US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr, makes an announcement linking autism to puerility vaccines [Kevin Lamarque/Reuters]Trump past shifted to his broader concerns astir vaccines, arguing against operation shots – similar the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella – adjacent though they person been proven to beryllium harmless successful aggregate rounds of research.
He besides questioned giving newborns the hepatitis B vaccine.
“Hepatitis B is sexually transmitted. There’s nary crushed to springiness a babe that’s astir conscionable born, hepatitis B. So I would say, hold till the babe is 12 years aged and formed and instrumentality hepatitis B.”
Finally, Trump repeated a assertion that countries without Tylenol, similar Cuba, person small oregon nary autism – framing it arsenic evidence.
“I mean, there’s a rumour, and I don’t cognize if it’s truthful oregon not, that Cuba, they don’t person Tylenol due to the fact that they don’t person the wealth for Tylenol. And they person virtually nary autism, OK. Tell maine astir that one.”
President Donald J. Trump, @SecKennedy, @DrOzCMS, @NIHDirector_Jay, & @DrMakaryFDA denote the Autism Action Plan.
Make America Healthy Again. pic.twitter.com/1inEvIecYU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 22, 2025
As with Trump’s different claims astatine the event, his assertion astir Cuba doesn’t basal up to scrutiny – arsenic we’ll get to successful a bit.
But archetypal …
What is autism?
Autism, oregon autism spectrum upset (ASD), is simply a developmental information that’s experienced by radical successful galore antithetic ways. In the United States, it’s recognised arsenic a signifier of neurodivergence and disablement nether the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), autism tin signifier however idiosyncratic communicates, learns, and interacts with the world, often successful ways that are simply antithetic from astir people.
Children diagnosed with autism tin besides person difficulties with social, affectional and connection skills. This tin make into traits that tin impact enactment with others and trouble successful learning.
What causes autism?
Autism has been linked to a analyzable premix of familial and developmental factors, and it looks antithetic for each individual. Scientists person identified hundreds of genes that tin play a role, either passed down from parents oregon appearing arsenic caller mutations during aboriginal encephalon development.
According to the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, definite biology influences whitethorn summation autism risk, including:
- Advanced parental age
- Prenatal vulnerability to aerial contamination oregon definite pesticides
- Maternal obesity, diabetes oregon immune strategy disorders
- Extreme prematurity oregon precise debased commencement weight
- Birth complications starring to periods of oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain.
Is autism connected the emergence successful the US?
At archetypal look, that’s what the numbers would suggest.
Figures from the CDC amusement that successful 2022, 1 successful 31 eight-year-old children were identified with autism successful the US, up from 1 successful 149 successful 2000.
According to the CDC, the information is besides astir 3 times much communal successful boys than successful girls.
Globally, estimates vary. The World Health Organization (WHO) reported successful 2021 that astir 1 successful 127 radical worldwide were surviving with autism. Similarly, a 2022 reappraisal of 71 studies recovered an mean prevalence of astir 1 percent.
These numbers person been cited by some, similar supporters of US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, to reason that the US faces a peculiarly acute situation with autism, and person been utilized to warrant crackdowns connected drugs similar Tylenol.
But experts pass that the information mightiness not needfully hold with these assertions and the measures that the Trump medication is taking.
Why are the numbers going up?
First, accidental experts, comparing autism rates crossed countries is problematic due to the fact that of differences successful diagnostic practices, consciousness and entree to healthcare – each of which impact however prevalence is measured and reported.
The accrued numbers successful the US, they constituent out, lone show a crisp emergence successful diagnoses – not needfully a emergence successful the incidence of autism itself.
According to experts, determination are 2 main factors down the emergence successful autism diagnoses. First, the explanation of autism has broadened arsenic scientists person recognised its wide spectrum of traits and symptoms. This has led to updated diagnostic criteria and amended screening tools.
At the aforesaid time, increasing consciousness has meant that much parents are seeking evaluations.
What astir acetaminophen?
Acetaminophen (also known arsenic paracetamol) is 1 of the astir wide utilized over-the-counter symptom relievers and fever reducers.
For more than a decade, researchers person studied whether acetaminophen usage during gestation is linked to developmental disorders. Findings person been mixed: Some studies reported associations with autism, portion a 2025 Mount Sinai reappraisal suggested grounds for broader neurodevelopmental risks.
But relation is not the aforesaid arsenic causation. The largest and astir rigorous survey to date, published successful 2024, recovered nary nexus betwixt prenatal acetaminophen usage and autism, ADHD, oregon different learning oregon developmental disorders. Experts enactment that the best-quality studies truthful acold amusement nary grounds of harm from acetaminophen.
According to the Autism Science Foundation, claims of a transportation stay “limited, conflicting, and inconsistent”.
“The large uncover astir autism was a full bust afloat of misinformation,” Arthur L Caplan, an American ethicist and prof of bioethics astatine the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, told Al Jazeera.
“There is nary information to amusement Tylenol causes autism and tons of information to amusement that fever successful large women harms the fetus,” helium added.
To beryllium sure, adjacent without a Tylenol-autism link, astir doctors “will astir apt archer large women they should ever beryllium cautious astir medication”, Catherine Lord, a prof of psychiatry astatine UCLA who specialises successful autism, told Al Jazeera.
But those doctors volition apt besides caution women not to debar taking medicines erstwhile they person a fever during pregnancy, she said. “They besides request to realise that having a precocious fever oregon being successful symptom is not bully for a increasing baby, either, truthful they should consult their doctor,” she added.
Have determination been different claims astir what causes autism?
Over the years, autism has been wrongly linked to galore expected causes. The astir notorious was the mendacious vaccine-autism nexus from a 1998 study, present afloat debunked. That survey claimed an relation betwixt the MMR vaccine – the aforesaid 1 that Trump targeted connected Monday – and autism. The Lancet, the highly respected British diary that published that study, retracted it 12 years later, successful 2010.
Other debated factors see prenatal medications oregon antidepressants, biology toxins, and diet, but the grounds is anemic oregon inconsistent. Earlier, the discredited “refrigerator mother” mentation blamed parents who were perceived to deficiency capable affectional warmth with their children for higher risks of autism.
And finally, is it true, arsenic Trump claims, that autism does not beryllium successful Cuba?
It’s untrue – and if anything, Cuba undercuts Trump’s argument.
Cuba officially recognises autism spectrum upset (ASD). There are aggregate specialised schools and paediatric clinics that supply diagnosis and therapy for children with autism.
In Cuba, acetaminophen is mostly known arsenic paracetamol and is sold successful authorities pharmacies. In different words, it is precise overmuch disposable and utilized arsenic successful different parts of the world.
According to a 2022 study, Cuba had an autism incidence of astir 2 to 4 per 10,000 children successful immoderate settings. While probe connected autism diagnoses successful Cuba is overmuch much constricted than successful the US, the information from the 2022 survey shows a acold little complaint of recognised cases than successful the US – contempt the beingness of acetaminophen.
English (US) ·