The State of Texas Top Legal Officer Sues Tylenol Manufacturers Concerning Autism Claims
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action against the producers of Tylenol, asserting the firms concealed potential risks that the medication posed to pediatric neurological development.
This legal action follows thirty days after President Donald Trump advocated an unverified association between taking acetaminophen - alternatively called acetaminophen - while pregnant and autism in offspring.
Paxton is suing J&J, which previously sold the drug, the sole analgesic recommended for pregnant women, and Kenvue, which now manufacturers it.
In a official comment, he stated they "misled consumers by gaining financially from suffering and promoting medication regardless of the risks."
The company says there is no credible evidence connecting acetaminophen to autism.
"These manufacturers deceived for years, deliberately risking numerous people to boost earnings," the attorney general, a Republican, stated.
The manufacturer commented that it was "very worried by the spread of false claims on the safety of acetaminophen and the likely effects that could have on the health of American women and children."
On its online platform, the company also said it had "regularly reviewed the pertinent research and there is no credible data that indicates a proven link between taking acetaminophen and autism."
Associations acting on behalf of physicians and medical practitioners share this view.
ACOG has stated paracetamol - the primary component in Tylenol - is one of the few options for expectant mothers to address discomfort and elevated temperature, which can pose significant medical dangers if ignored.
"In over twenty years of research on the consumption of paracetamol in pregnancy, zero credible investigations has definitively established that the consumption of acetaminophen in any stage of gestation causes brain development issues in offspring," the organization commented.
This legal action mentions current declarations from the Trump administration in arguing the medication is potentially dangerous.
In recent weeks, the former president caused concern from medical authorities when he instructed expectant mothers to "fight like hell" not to take Tylenol when ill.
Federal regulators then issued a notice that doctors should contemplate reducing the use of acetaminophen, while also mentioning that "a causal relationship" between the drug and autism in young ones has not been established.
The Health Department head Kennedy, who supervises the Food and Drug Administration, had pledged in April to initiate "a massive testing and research effort" that would identify the cause of autism spectrum disorder in a short period.
But authorities advised that identifying a single cause of autism - considered by experts to be the consequence of a intricate combination of inherited and environmental factors - would prove challenging.
Autism is a category of permanent neurological difference and disability that influences how people encounter and engage with the world, and is diagnosed using doctors' observations.
In his lawsuit, the attorney general - aligned with the former president who is seeking federal office - asserts Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "deliberately disregarded and sought to suppress the science" around paracetamol and autism.
This legal action attempts to require the corporations "remove any commercial messaging" that claims acetaminophen is secure for pregnant women.
The court case echoes the concerns of a group of guardians of young ones with autism and ADHD who sued the producers of acetaminophen in 2022.
The court dismissed the legal action, stating investigations from the parents' expert witnesses was not conclusive.