Texas Top Legal Officer Takes Legal Action Against Tylenol Producers Over Autism Spectrum Assertions
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action against the producers of Tylenol, claiming the companies withheld alleged dangers that the drug created to children's neurological development.
The lawsuit follows four weeks after Donald Trump advocated an unsubstantiated connection between consuming acetaminophen - also known as acetaminophen - while pregnant and autism spectrum disorder in offspring.
The attorney general is filing suit against Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the medication, the exclusive pain medication approved for expectant mothers, and Kenvue, which now manufacturers it.
In a statement, he claimed they "deceived the public by profiting off of pain and marketing drugs regardless of the potential hazards."
The company says there is lacking scientific proof linking Tylenol to autism spectrum disorder.
"These corporations deceived for years, knowingly endangering countless individuals to increase profits," the attorney general, a Republican, said.
The manufacturer commented that it was "very worried by the spread of false claims on the reliability of paracetamol and the likely effects that could have on the health of American women and children."
On its website, the company also stated it had "regularly reviewed the relevant science and there is insufficient valid information that shows a established connection between consuming acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder."
Associations representing doctors and healthcare providers concur.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated acetaminophen - the key substance in acetaminophen - is a restricted selection for expectant mothers to address discomfort and elevated temperature, which can create serious health risks if ignored.
"In multiple decades of studies on the use of acetaminophen in gestation, no reliable research has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any period of pregnancy results in neurodevelopmental disorders in children," the association said.
The lawsuit mentions current declarations from the Trump administration in arguing the medication is potentially dangerous.
Recently, Trump raised alarms from medical authorities when he instructed women during pregnancy to "struggle intensely" not to consume Tylenol when sick.
The FDA then issued a notice that physicians should contemplate reducing the usage of acetaminophen, while also mentioning that "a causal relationship" between the drug and autism in young ones has remains unverified.
Health Secretary Kennedy, who supervises the Food and Drug Administration, had pledged in spring to undertake "a massive testing and research effort" that would identify the cause of autism in a matter of months.
But specialists advised that discovering a unique factor of autism - thought by researchers to be the consequence of a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors - would not be simple.
Autism is a category of lifelong neurodivergence and disability that affects how individuals encounter and engage with the world, and is recognized using medical professional evaluations.
In his court filing, the attorney general - who supports Trump who is seeking federal office - asserts Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "intentionally overlooked and sought to suppress the evidence" around acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder.
The lawsuit aims to force the corporations "remove any marketing or advertising" that asserts acetaminophen is reliable for expectant mothers.
The court case parallels the grievances of a group of parents of minors with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who filed suit against the manufacturers of Tylenol in recently.
Judicial authorities threw out the lawsuit, declaring research from the parents' expert witnesses was not conclusive.