Former President Obama criticized President Trump’s claims linking the use of Tylenol to autism as “violence against the truth,” warning it could harm pregnant women and families with children who are autistic.
“We have the spectacle of my successor in the Oval Office making broad claims around certain drugs and autism that have been continuously disproved,” Obama said Wednesday during a stop on his speaking tour in London.
“And the degree to which that undermines public health, the degree to which that can do harm to women who are pregnant, the degree to which that creates anxiety for parents who do have children who are autistic — which, by the way, itself is subject to a spectrum,” he continued.
“And a lot of what is being trumpeted as these massive increases actually have to do with a broadening of the criteria across that spectrum so that people can actually get services. … All of that is violence against the truth.”
Trump and top health officials held a press conference Monday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, where they said pregnant women should not use the pain reliever acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, due to a potential risk of autism, despite no new evidence proving the drug causes the condition.
The president repeatedly said “don’t take Tylenol” and recommended pregnant women limit use of acetaminophen except in case of an extremely high fever — “if you can’t tough it out.”
Tylenol has been one of the few over-the-counter pain medications considered safe for pregnant women; other options, such as ibuprofen or aspirin, can increase risks of birth defects.
Medical experts quickly pushed back on Trump’s comments, and some Republicans and members of Trump’s own administration have sought to temper his remarks.
“So, my guidance to pregnant women would be very simple, which is follow your doctor. Right? Talk to your doctor about these things,” Vice President Vance said in an interview Wednesday with Nexstar, which owns The Hill.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), a physician, said the “preponderance of evidence shows” there is no link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism.
“The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem,” Cassidy posted on the social platform X.
