Texas Top Legal Officer Files Lawsuit Against Tylenol Producers Regarding Autism Spectrum Claims
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is filing a lawsuit against the producers of Tylenol, alleging the companies withheld safety concerns that the drug created to pediatric cognitive development.
This legal action arrives four weeks after President Donald Trump promoted an unsubstantiated connection between using Tylenol - alternatively called paracetamol - during pregnancy and autism spectrum disorder in offspring.
Paxton is suing J&J, which formerly manufactured the drug, the sole analgesic approved for expectant mothers, and the current manufacturer, which currently produces it.
In a declaration, he said they "misled consumers by gaining financially from suffering and promoting medication without regard for the potential hazards."
The manufacturer says there is lacking scientific proof linking Tylenol to autism.
"These companies deceived for years, intentionally threatening countless individuals to increase profits," Paxton, from the Republican party, declared.
The company said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the dissemination of inaccurate information on the security of paracetamol and the likely effects that could have on the health of American women and children."
On its online platform, Kenvue also mentioned it had "continuously evaluated the applicable studies and there is no credible data that demonstrates a verified association between using paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."
Associations representing physicians and medical practitioners share this view.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has declared acetaminophen - the primary component in acetaminophen - is among limited choices for women during pregnancy to manage discomfort and elevated temperature, which can present significant medical dangers if not addressed.
"In more than two decades of research on the consumption of paracetamol in pregnancy, zero credible investigations has definitively established that the consumption of acetaminophen in any period of gestation causes brain development issues in children," the group commented.
This legal action references current declarations from the Trump administration in arguing the medication is allegedly unsafe.
Recently, the former president caused concern from medical authorities when he advised expectant mothers to "struggle intensely" not to use Tylenol when ill.
Federal regulators then published an announcement that doctors should consider limiting the use of acetaminophen, while also mentioning that "a direct connection" between the medication and autism in children has not been established.
Health Secretary Kennedy, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration, had promised in spring to initiate "extensive scientific investigation" that would determine the source of autism spectrum disorder in a short period.
But experts cautioned that discovering a single cause of autism - considered by experts to be the result of a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors - would be difficult.
Autism spectrum disorder is a category of enduring cognitive variation and condition that impacts how persons encounter and interact with the surroundings, and is recognized using physician assessments.
In his court filing, the attorney general - aligned with the former president who is seeking US Senate - claims the manufacturer and J&J "intentionally overlooked and attempted to silence the science" around paracetamol and autism.
The lawsuit aims to force the companies "eliminate any marketing or advertising" that states Tylenol is safe for expectant mothers.
This legal action echoes the grievances of a group of guardians of children with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD who sued the producers of acetaminophen in 2022.
The court threw out the legal action, saying research from the plaintiffs' authorities was not conclusive.