Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a physician, criticized President Trump’s warning against pregnant women using acetaminophen over alleged autism risks.
On Monday, Trump, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and other officials warned pregnant women against using acetaminophen, the key ingredient in Tylenol. The president said pregnant women should avoid acetaminophen unless treating a very high fever. This prompted pushback from the Louisiana Republican.
“The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case,” Cassidy, the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, wrote Monday in an X social media post. “The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem.”
Cassidy said he backs the administration’s intent to address the issue but urged the Department of HHS to release supporting data.
During Monday’s press conference on the matter, the White House cited studies linking its use in pregnancy to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism and ADHD, including an NIH-funded review by Mount Sinai and Harvard that found 27 of 46 studies showed such associations.
“President Trump and Secretary Kennedy pledged to practice radical transparency,” an HHS spokesperson told The Hill. “HHS is honoring that commitment by following the science and sharing critical public health information as soon as it becomes available, ensuring families are informed and public health is protected. These actions represent an unprecedented, comprehensive approach to deepen our understanding of the causes of autism. We will continue to follow the science, restore trust, and deliver hope to millions of American families.”
In a response statement to the Trump administration’s announcement, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said that “despite assertions to the contrary, a thorough review of existing research suggesting a potential link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and an increased risk of autism and attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has not established a causal relationship.”
The society added that it “supports continued research that includes pregnant patients to understand the potential causes of neurodevelopmental disabilities in children.”
Kenvue, the manufacturer of Tylenol, which spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, pushed back against the administration’s claims in their own statement: “We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”
GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy breaks with Trump on linking Tylenol to autism: ‘Not the case’ https://t.co/PjSLr5gaG4 pic.twitter.com/hyVvG4DhoX
— New York Post (@nypost) September 23, 2025
