President Trump says, in an effort to combat the prevalence of autism, his administration will begin to tell doctors to warn pregnant women about the risks of taking acetaminophen, which is a fever and pain reducer most commonly associated with the over-the-counter drug Tylenol. Doctors have insisted that the drug is safe to take. 

During a press conference with secretary of health and human services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as the heads of the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mr. Trump said simply: “Don’t take it.”

“Instead of attacking those who ask questions, everyone should be grateful for those who are trying to get the answers to this complex situation,” the president said of the “crisis of autism” in America. 

“Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it. It’s not good,” he claimed, adding that it is “very dangerous” for pregnant women. “You shouldn’t take it during the entire pregnancy,” the president claimed. 

Mr. Kennedy spoke after the president, announcing that his department “will act on acetaminophen” and try to get women to stop taking it — or at least take it at the lowest possible dosages — while pregnant. He says they will be issuing a “safety label change” for Tylenol, and he will launch a “nationwide public service campaign” to raise awareness. 

“Whatever the answer is, we will tell you what we find,” Mr. Kenney proclaimed. 

The company that is responsible for Tylenol’s production, Kenvue, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Scientists and doctors have long pushed back against claims that acetaminophen is in any way dangerous for women to take during pregnancy. Mr. Kennedy on Monday claimed that using the painkiller leads to an increased likelihood of neurological disorders like autism and

A 2024 study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, which focused on possible links between neurological development problems and acetaminophen. The study found that there is statistically no association between the rise of autism or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder — or ADHD — with mothers taking acetaminophen while pregnant. 

The study compared siblings whose mothers took the drug to those siblings whose mothers did not, leading scientists to conclude that the causes of autism were almost certainly genetic rather than environmental, or as a result of taking a mild painkiller. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said in a 2021 statement amid rising concerns about autism’s link to acetaminophen that the painkiller is “one of the only safe pain relievers for pregnant individuals during pregnancy.”

“ACOG’s clinical guidance remains the same and physicians should not change clinical practice until definitive prospective research is done. Most importantly, patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen,” the group said. 

In response to questions about that statement, Mr. Trump simply said, “They’re the establishment. 

The president went further than just acetaminophen during his press conference on Monday, going so far as to say that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, or MMR, vaccine should be broken up so that children get three shots for three separate diseases rather than one combined vaccine. 

“It seems to be that when you mix them, there could be a problem, so there’s no downside in taking them separately,” the president claimed, despite longstanding scientific consensus about the MMR vaccine. 

“When you mix them, something maybe happens.”