Fear-mongers Announce New Target: Tylenol Use During Pregnancy
- Aubrey Weaver
- Oct 1, 2025
- 4 min read
The current administration has taken yet another dangerous step into the exam room, once again siding with anti-science fear-mongers over the overwhelming weight of clinical evidence.
In an event with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on September 22, President Trump said the administration will issue a physician’s notice to warn pregnant women against using acetaminophen, the common pain reliever used in Tylenol and other over the counter medications.
The BBC reported the action will "force federal health agencies to issue stark warnings" about prenatal acetaminophen use; scientists have outright called the action “fear-mongering” (BBC, 2025). The administration’s purported use of gold standard science for its action is nothing more than negatively propagandizing a medication that doctors have safely recommended for pregnant women for decades. This move, based on long-debunked claims linking the drug to autism, directly threatens the health of mothers and their pregnancies.
We have seen this pattern before. As evidence for one medical intervention becomes irrefutable, these campaigns simply pivot to a new target. As Tribune magazine noted in 2022, the story pushed by right wing media is always the same: a common substance is secretly causing an epidemic, and experts are covering it up (Tribune, 2022). We saw this rhetoric first with anti-vaxxine movements, now it has expanded to sow doubt about a pill millions of pregnant people use to manage fever and pain.
The medical community is responding with clarity and concern. Just hours after the administration's announcement, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued a powerful statement: "More than two decades of research have found no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in children" (ACOG, 2025).
Their message was urgent. They emphasized that acetaminophen remains a critical tool for treating conditions that are themselves dangerous. "Acetaminophen continues to be an important and safe option for managing pain and fever in pregnancy, conditions that can pose serious risks to pregnant patients and their fetuses if left untreated" (ACOG, 2025).
This is the core of the danger. An untreated high fever during pregnancy poses a well-documented risk of fetal neural tube defects and other complications. Experts at the Yale School of Public Health stress that the administration-cited studies suggesting a link to autism are weak and observational. The real and proven risks, they say, come from leaving fever and serious pain untreated (Liew, Z. Yale School of Public Health, 2025).
Further fueling harmful stigma, this rhetoric also frames autism as a preventable tragedy, a talking point that researchers and advocates have repeatedly condemned. When RFK Jr. made inflammatory comments earlier this year about autistic children, claiming they “will never pay taxes. They'll never hold a job. They'll never play baseball. They'll never write a poem. They'll never go out on a date”, autism advocates pushed back hard, noting that such rhetoric "perpetuates harmful stereotypes and ignores the fact that autistic people live full, meaningful lives" (NPR, 2025).
Anyone who has known an Autistic individual or seen Netflix’s popular show Love on The Spectrum knows that RFK Jr. is laboring under an old-fashioned, out-of-touch, and ableist misapprehension about Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The administration's action creates an impossible choice for pregnant people: trust their doctors or trust the administration and fear their own medicine cabinet. It substitutes political ideology for evidence-based and personalized care. Of course there are unique circumstances and pre-existing conditions that might make one avoid Tylenol during their pregnancy, but we remain steadfast in our belief that decisions are best made between a patient and their provider, without propagandist government intervention.
The Ruth Collective affirms its commitment to evidence-based healthcare, standing with the position of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the broader medical community. Prevailing scientific evidence confirms that acetaminophen is safe for judicious use during pregnancy. We caution against warnings that lack scientific backing, as they can cause confusion and sow doubt regarding established medical practices. We urge every patient to consult their trusted healthcare provider before making any changes to their medical routine.
Disclaimer: We are not medical experts. The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. Please consult with a qualified healthcare professional for any health concerns or before making any decisions related to your health or treatment.
Sources:
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (2025, September 22). ACOG reaffirms the safety and benefits of acetaminophen use during pregnancy [Facebook post]. Facebook. https://www.acog.org/clinical-information/physician-faqs/acetaminophen-in-pregnancy?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=acog2025-practice
BBC News. (2025, September 22). Trump and Kennedy launch anti-autism initiative. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx20d4lr67lo
NPR. (2025, April 20). RFK Jr.'s comments on autism spark outrage among researchers. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/20/nx-s1-5369383/rfk-jr-s-comments-on-autism-spark-outrage-among-researchers
Liew. Z. Yale School of Public Health. September 23, 2025. What the research says about autism and Tylenol use during pregnancy. https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/what-the-research-says-about-autism-and-tylenol-use-during-pregnancy/
The Times. (2025, September 22). Trump to act on Tylenol-autism fears. https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/tylenol-autism-trump-rfk-pregnant-fever-n0w3fv7t0
Tribune. (2022, February 16). How the right-wing media turned against the covid vaccine. https://tribunemag.co.uk/2022/02/right-wing-tabloids-media-mmr-vaccine-antivax-covid-misinformation
Comments