Trump Officials Allegedly Link Tylenol to Autism Risk

By Staff, Agencies

Donald Trump’s administration is on Monday expected to tie pregnant women’s use of the popular medicine Tylenol – known as paracetamol elsewhere in the world – to a risk of autism, contrary to medical guidelines, the Washington Post has reported.

Trump officials are reportedly preparing to announce plans to investigate the drug leucovorin as a potential treatment for autism, according to a Post report citing anonymous sources.

Medical guidelines say it is safe for pregnant women to take Tylenol, the over-the-counter pain medication whose active ingredient is known as acetaminophen in the US and paracetamol elsewhere in the world.

Trump teased the announcement during the memorial for conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sunday, telling the crowd “I think we found an answer to autism.” On Saturday, the president said the planned announcement would be “one of the most important things that we will do.”

In September, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., planned to announce a potential link between prenatal Tylenol use and autism spectrum disorder, a condition characterized by social and communication challenges and repetitive behaviors.

As the Post reported, some medical trials involving administering leucovorin to children with autism have shown “what some scientists describe as remarkable improvements in their ability to speak and understand others” – though those trials are considered early.

Kennedy has claimed that the US is in the grip of an “autism epidemic” fueled by “environmental toxins.”

Decades of research has not yielded firm answers on what contributes to autism, but many scientists believe genetics, potentially in combination with environmental influences, play a role.