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Trump Links Autism to Use of Tylenol During Pregnancy. Kenvue Stock Hits Record Low.

Sep 22, 2025 10:14:00 -0400 by Nate Wolf | #Healthcare

The pain reliever Tylenol is made by Kenvue. (Dreamstime)

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President Donald Trump on Monday linked autism in children to the use of Tylenol during pregnancy, blaming the drug’s use for increased autism rates nationwide.

Acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is one of the few pain and fever medications recommended for pregnant women. Trump said it should only be taken by those with “extremely high fever” when “you think you can’t tough it out.”

Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, has said in the past it has studied the science and hasn’t found any causal link between the use of Tylenol in pregnancy and autism. In a statement to Barron’s on Monday it said it “strongly” disagrees “with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”

Dr. Steven J. Fleischman, president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said suggestions that acetaminophen use in pregnancy causes autism are “not only highly concerning to clinicians but also irresponsible when considering the harmful and confusing message they send to pregnant patients,” including those who might need it to treat maternal fever, headaches that could signal preeclampsia, and pain. He said Monday’s announcement “is not backed by the full body of scientific evidence and dangerously simplifies the many and complex causes of neurologic challenges in children.”

Despite more than two decades of research into acetaminophen use during pregnancy, including one published last year in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “not a single reputable study has successfully concluded” that using acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy “causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children,” Fleischman said.

Trump said he has been waiting 20 years to make Monday’s announcement, which he said he first discussed with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. years ago.

“Don’t take Tylenol,” Trump said during a press conference. “What can you take instead? There’s not an alternative to that.”

The president claimed autism rates have increased from one in 20,000 to one in 12 among boys in some populations. He also said there was “no autism” among the Amish, whom he said don’t take medications.

Trump administration officials said they will be launching a public service campaign to inform families and protect public health, update medication labels, and begin National Institutes of Health studies into the causes of autism.

Kennedy said that Tylenol should be taken only when necessary, at the lowest possible dose and for the shortest possible duration. He also said that “folate deficiency in children’s brains can lead to autism” and that 40% to 70% of mothers of children with autism believe that their children were affected by vaccines. “We should listen to these mothers,” he said, adding: “We will be performing the studies that should have been performed 25 years ago.”

Trump hinted at the announcement during Charlie Kirk’s memorial service on Sunday, saying he would reveal “an answer to autism.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported earlier this month that Kennedy was planning to release a report connecting autism to acetaminophen.

Shares of Tylenol maker Kenvue closed down 7.5% to $16.97, an all-time low on Monday, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The company was the worst performer in the S&P 500 on Monday, though the stock was up more than 6% in after-hours trading. Kenvue shares had already dropped sharply following the Journal’s report on Sept. 5.

Kenvue, which spun out of Johnson & Johnson in 2023, has faced numerous lawsuits claiming that prenatal exposure to Tylenol was associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children. A federal judge twice ruled in favor of Kenvue in those combined lawsuits, in December 2023 and in July 2024, both times citing issues with the plaintiffs’ methodologies.

In August 2024, a federal judge granted summary judgment in favor of Kenvue and other defendants, dismissing all the cases brought in federal court and effectively ending the litigation. More recent research has cast significant doubt on the potential links between autism and acetaminophen used during pregnancy, Barron’s reported earlier this month.

“We have continuously evaluated the science and continue to believe there is no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism,” Kenvue said in a statement at the time.

Navann Ty, lead analyst for U.S. healthcare at BNP Paribas, told Barron’s before the White House announcement on Monday that “We think the stock reaction is excessive, given that the litigation has been ruled twice in favor of Kenvue.”

Ty said proving the causation will be very difficult, because the plaintiffs have already tried in the multidistrict litigation.

Ty said that during the 2022-2024 lawsuits, there was no impact on Tylenol’s sales and that the brand continued to gain market share. She did not expect Monday’s announcement to reopen previous litigation or to affect Tylenol sales.

Write to Nate Wolf at nate.wolf@barrons.com