Back in September, Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. flanked Trump — or as I call them: Dumber, Dumbest, and Can’t Pronounce Acetaminophen — as they told pregnant women to stop taking Tylenol, alleging an unfounded link between the drug and babies being born with autism. Of course this counsel is patently wrong; doctors routinely advise pregnant women to take Tylenol because it is one of the safest pain relievers out there. Furthermore, it was easily unraveled that the one bit of “evidence” the Tylenol-autism link was based on was the testimony of someone who had been paid to speak against Tylenol. But if there’s one thing Dementia Don has in his dusty corner, it’s an army of GOP sycophants ready to sell their souls and country to do his bidding. Case in point: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has just sued the makers of Tylenol over the (entirely erroneous) claim of its link to autism.
Paxton announced that he was suing manufacturer Kenvue, and former parent company Johnson & Johnson, in an Oct. 28 statement on his official website. In the lawsuit, Paxton claims the companies “knew that acetaminophen—Tylenol’s active ingredient—is dangerous to unborn children and young children. Yet they hid this danger and deceptively marketed Tylenol as the only safe painkiller for pregnant women, violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices-Consumer Protection Act.”
“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 is quoted as saying in the statement.
President Donald Trump made the initial claims that Tylenol, when taken while pregnant, causes “horrible, horrible” autism in a Sept. 22 press conference alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Dr. Mehmet Oz — despite medical experts disagreeing with the statements.
“People have been taking Tylenol since 1960, and there’s a very long history of safety here,” Dr. Karam Radwan, Director of the UChicago Medicine Neurodevelopmental Clinic, previously told PEOPLE.
Acetaminophen and autism have been the subject of numerous, often inconclusive, studies. Trump’s claims about Tylenol are thought to be largely fueled by research published in August in Environmental Health. While the study authors claim there is a “positive association” between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — and neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, they also said that they “cannot establish causation for any single exposure.”
…A rep for Kenvue told PEOPLE, “Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the people who use our products. We are deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation on the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the health of American women and children.”
The statement continued: “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. High fevers and pain are widely recognized as potential risks to a pregnancy if left untreated. We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims and respond per the legal process. We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support.”
I’m just realizing something: I think a big reason why I got so swept up in the Louvre jewelry heist caper is that it was a glittering distraction from all the sh-tf–kery like this going on at home. Since we must, let’s get into it. First and most importantly, Tylenol is SAFE (and you can read Kenvue’s full statement against the lawsuit here). Second — just because I think this should never be forgotten — is the reminder that Health Secretary RFK Jr.’s brain killed a worm and is still to this day that worm’s graveyard. And point three is all to do with Texas AG Ken Paxton. The guy has hit some political and personal lows in recent years, namely a 2023 impeachment trial (where he was acquitted, sigh) and this summer when his wife filed for divorce “on biblical grounds.” I didn’t know that was an option alongside “irreconcilable differences.” But those public thorns haven’t dissuaded Paxton from challenging incumbent Senator John Cornyn to be the Republican nominee in next year’s midterms. Trump has yet to endorse a candidate. Hmm, I wonder what would curry his favor?
