*Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, accusing the companies of deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant people despite alleged risks of autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
According to The Guardian, the suit claims violations of state consumer protection laws and alleges Johnson & Johnson fraudulently transferred Tylenol liabilities to Kenvue. “Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said in a press release.
The lawsuit follows claims made by President Donald Trump last month, warning pregnant women to avoid Tylenol unless necessary. “Taking Tylenol is not good—I’ll say it—it’s not good,” Trump said, suggesting a potential connection between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. advised that if acetaminophen is needed, pregnant women should take “the lowest effective dose for the shortest duration.” This marks a dramatic shift in medical guidance, as Tylenol has long been the recommended pain reliever during pregnancy because alternatives like ibuprofen carry known risks of miscarriage and birth defects. Trump recently cautioned on Truth Social that children should not be given Tylenol “for virtually any reason.”
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Health Digest reports that scientific research remains divided. A 2024 JAMA study of over two million children found no strong correlation between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and autism. Likewise, a 2025 study published in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, which analyzed more than 200,000 children, found no evidence that prenatal acetaminophen exposure causes autism. Alycia Halladay, chief science officer at the Autism Science Foundation, told PBS, “The scientific studies that have been conducted so far do not support the idea that Tylenol causes autism.”
However, a 2025 Environmental Health review of 47 studies suggested a possible association, and a 2020 JAMA Psychiatry study of nearly 1,000 patient records recommended further investigation into potential links with autism or ADHD.
The debate intensified after a 2017 Tylenol social media post resurfaced in which the company wrote, “We actually don’t recommend using any of our products while pregnant. Thank you for taking the time to voice your concerns today.”
Tylenol makers have strongly defended the medication. Per The Guardian, Kenvue stated: “Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy. Without it, women face dangerous choices: suffer through conditions like fever that are potentially harmful to both mom and baby or use riskier alternatives.”
The company previously emphasized that “sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism.”
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Debate Intensifies Over Tylenol’s Link to Rising Autism Rates in Children
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