During a press briefing on September 22, 2025, Donald Trump made an announcement advising against the use of Tylenol during pregnancy, citing an increased risk of autism in children. During the briefing, he also mentioned links between autism and vaccinations, an idea that was based off of a retracted study on the topic. Additionally, the FDA moved to change the label of Tylenol to warn users of the possible risk. In a news release, they cite studies that have found a correlation between acetaminophen and autism, while acknowledging that other painkillers have adverse effects on the fetus.
These findings have been heavily criticized amongst the medical field as well as foundations focused on autism, with the Autism Science Foundation (ASF) expressing concern against the announcement, saying that Autism Spectrum Disorder is far more complex than the Trump administration made it out to be. Their statement on the announcement had brought up the element of blame, stating that the claim of a fever medication being a reason for autism is another way to blame mothers of autistic children.
Many of these discussions around a cause for autism tend to be closely tied with medical misogyny. In early research into autism, it was theorized that cold and uncaring “refrigerator mothers” were the root cause of the disorder. Of course, these ideas were harmful for both the mother and child involved.
The ASF also points out flaws within the studies used for Trump’s announcement, pointing out that any correlation between acetaminophen and autism is nonexistent with the use of sibling control methods within several studies, where neurodivergent children are compared to their neurotypical siblings as a control group.
Faulty scientific reasoning is another critique of the announcement. The original concerns from the Trump administration seem to be based on conflation of autism diagnoses compared to the amount of autistic individuals. One of the most important reasons for the increase in autism diagnoses is the criteria to diagnose an autistic individual. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders originally categorized autism as a form of schizophrenia, while the third edition marked it as a developmental disorder. Later, multiple different disorders were grouped into the single ASD diagnosis, making it so that anyone who was thought to have any of these previously distinct disorders would now be considered autistic.
Mrs. Gizas, a biology teacher at WMC provides important context to the current worry about a cause for autism. She points out that retrospective studies – studies where conclusions are formed, and evidence is found to fit them using biased sample groups – are unscientific. One such study, a paper published in 1998 to The Lancet, is one of the foundations of the modern Anti-Vaccine movement. Following this study, vaccination refusal rates in the UK had increased, leading to the spread of diseases such as measles and mumps. Even more recently, measles has spread throughout certain areas of the United States after being thought to have been eliminated from the area. The study was thought by the vast majority of the scientific community to be unscientific, and twelve years after its publication, the study was retracted.
Government officials citing these studies may be a sign that to them, the outcome of a study is more important than the science behind it being conducted properly. The government plays a large role in what its people believe is safe, and Mrs. Gizas believes that “coming out with some sort of a claim that is not proven by scientific literature is irresponsible and potentially misleading.”
Without using effective scientific reasoning, government officials have spread dangerous rhetoric under the guise of searching for a cure.
