RFK Jr. promised a different kind of HHS, and we’re getting it.
Administration officials told reporters to expect Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Department of Health and Human Services to follow through on his April promise to produce the results of his agency’s investigation into autism’s causes by the arbitrary deadline he set at the end of September. Having previously rejected the consensus that autism diagnoses have risen amid increased identification of that condition across a broad severity spectrum, it was likely that Kennedy’s HHS would identify some exogenous force that is doing this to children.
That’s precisely what HHS came up with. Kennedy’s department will now warn pregnant women that taking acetaminophen, the active ingredient in the over-the-counter pain medication Tylenol, invites an elevated risk of autism in their children in utero. Indeed, a “very increased risk,” according to President Trump at the announcement on Monday afternoon. “Don’t take it.”
The recommendation that pregnant women take acetaminophen only if they are experiencing a high fever is certainly going to be a hardship for expectant mothers. Pregnant women are already advised to avoid taking other common pain medicines such as aspirin and ibuprofen because of increased risk of miscarriage or birth defects.
Of course, forswearing Tylenol would be a small sacrifice to safeguard children against neurodevelopmental disorders like autism. But it might not be a necessary one.
The Health and Human Services Department findings were previewed by the Wall Street Journal in early September, which forecast a forthcoming “report” that would advise pregnant women to steer clear of Tylenol and ensure they are getting proper levels of the vitamin folate. But, as one federal official told Politico this past weekend, “such a report does not, however, currently exist.” It is impossible to parse the federal government’s findings in its absence.
There are some medical researchers who contend that HHS is onto something. “Appropriate and immediate steps should be taken to advise pregnant women to limit acetaminophen consumption to protect their offspring’s neurodevelopment,” read one 2025 study published in BioMed Central’s Environmental Health.
There is, however, no medical consensus around the notion that there is a direct link between acetaminophen and autism. Indeed, acetaminophen — or paracetamol, as it’s called in much of the rest of the world — is a thoroughly known molecule. And while it can cause liver damage at even just ten times the recommended dose, decades of studies have shown it to be safe when taken at the proper dosage.
Additionally, most of the studies that have tried to establish a causal link between acetaminophen usage and neurodevelopmental disorders in children are more ambiguous than the president’s pronouncement suggests.
“Studies that have been conducted in the past, show no clear evidence that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during any trimester and fetal developmental issues,” the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology said in a statement.
A 2024 study published in the medical journal JAMA concurred with that assessment. “Acetaminophen use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis,” its abstract read.
“HHS should release the new data that it has to support this claim,” a skeptical Senator Bill Cassidy wrote on Monday. “The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case. The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy.” Indeed, Kennedy’s own researchers are still exploring “about 30 hypotheses about potential causes,” Politico added. The “literature review intended to underpin that work isn’t finished,” and it’s unclear when the work will be done.
Given the paucity of the data provided and the clearly rushed timing of the announcement, Americans could be forgiven for waiting to see more evidence before emptying out their medicine cabinets.
RFK Jr. himself doesn’t have a lot of credibility. The HHS secretary has spent decades attempting to establish spurious links between “environmental toxins,” food additives, and pharmaceutical components (including, but not limited to, the ingredients that compose vaccines), and autism. A figure who boasts that he can diagnose the children who are “overburdened by mitochondrial challenges” just by stealing a fleeting glance at them in an airport is not someone who rigorously observes methodological protocols.
That said, the administration’s focus on autism is a worthy one. The emphasis should be more credible research to understand a condition we still don’t know nearly enough about. The public health establishment discredited itself with sweeping declarations based on limited evidence or motivated by political considerations. The public health counter-establishment, now in charge at HHS, shouldn’t repeat the same error.