Half of all pregnant women take acetaminophen -- better known as Tylenol or paracetamol -- to relieve pain or reduce fever. The drug has been around for decades, is available without a prescription, and is often one of the few options doctors consider safe during pregnancy. However, on Sept. 23, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would require new warning labels, citing a "possible association" between prenatal use and autism in children.
The agency's language was cautious. President Trump's, by contrast, was not.
"Don't take Tylenol," he declared.
The clash highlights a recurring pattern in health debates: Preliminary science is met with sweeping political declarations, even when the evidence is thin. In this case, the consequences could be serious for mothers, children and public understanding of autism.
Autism is characterized by differences in social communication and behavior. The reported prevalence has increased in many countries over the past several decades, prompting widespread concern and, in some cases, a relentless search for the cause.
Researchers emphasize that the rise in autism diagnoses has far more to do with better recognition, broader diagnostic criteria and greater public awareness than with an actual surge in cases.
The best available science does not support a causal link between Tylenol and autism. A landmark study from Sweden analyzed health records of nearly 2.5 million children born between 1995 and 2019. It found only a negligible difference in autism diagnoses -- 1.42% among those exposed to acetaminophen in the womb compared to 1.33% among those not exposed.
A separate study from Japan this year, involving more than 200,000 children, reached the same conclusion.
That did not stop Trump, joined by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., from presenting acetaminophen -- and, once again, vaccines -- as suspects.
The danger of this political theater is twofold. First, pregnant women may be frightened away from the only pain and fever medication that doctors reliably recommend, leaving them to suffer or to turn to riskier alternatives.
Second, focusing on tenuous links to drugs or vaccines deflects attention from the more pressing needs in autism research -- such as understanding the genetic and neurological underpinnings, improving support for autistic people, and addressing the day-to-day challenges families face. Worse, it perpetuates a pattern of blaming mothers for their children's conditions, fostering guilt and stigma without evidence.
Autism is complex. It involves genetics, brain development, and, in some cases, nutritional or environmental influences. Reducing it to a story about a common painkiller is not only misleading; it's harmful.
Acetaminophen has helped countless pregnant women get through pain and stubborn fevers. Stripping it of trust without good reason risks replacing one set of problems with another. Autism deserves serious, evidence-based inquiry -- not scapegoats.