🔗 Share this article

Texas Attorney General Paxton is suing the manufacturers of acetaminophen, claiming the corporations withheld alleged dangers that the drug posed to children's brain development.

The court filing follows four weeks after President Donald Trump publicized an unsubstantiated connection between consuming Tylenol - alternatively called paracetamol - while pregnant and autism in offspring.

The attorney general is taking legal action against J&J, which once produced the medication, the only pain reliever suggested for women during pregnancy, and the current manufacturer, which presently makes it.

In a official comment, he said they "misled consumers by profiting off of discomfort and pushing pills regardless of the risks."

The company asserts there is lacking scientific proof connecting acetaminophen to autism spectrum disorder.

"These corporations deceived for years, intentionally threatening countless individuals to increase profits," Paxton, a Republican, stated.

Kenvue stated officially that it was "seriously troubled by the dissemination of inaccurate information on the security of paracetamol and the potential impact that could have on the health of women and children in America."

On its online platform, the company also said it had "regularly reviewed the applicable studies and there is lacking reliable evidence that demonstrates a established connection between using paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."

Associations speaking for medical professionals and medical practitioners agree.

ACOG has stated acetaminophen - the primary component in acetaminophen - is a restricted selection for expectant mothers to treat discomfort and fever, which can create significant medical dangers if not addressed.

"In over twenty years of studies on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy, zero credible investigations has successfully concluded that the consumption of paracetamol in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children," the organization commented.

The lawsuit mentions recent announcements from the Trump administration in arguing the drug is allegedly unsafe.

Recently, the former president caused concern from public health officials when he instructed women during pregnancy to "resist strongly" not to use acetaminophen when unwell.

The US Food and Drug Administration then issued a notice that physicians should consider limiting the consumption of acetaminophen, while also declaring that "a direct connection" between the drug and autism spectrum disorder in minors has not been established.

The Health Department head RFK Jr, who oversees the FDA, had pledged in April to conduct "extensive scientific investigation" that would establish the origin of autism spectrum disorder in a matter of months.

But experts advised that identifying a single cause of autism spectrum disorder - believed by scientists to be the result of a complicated interplay of inherited and surrounding conditions - would prove challenging.

Autism spectrum disorder is a type of enduring cognitive variation and condition that impacts how people experience and relate to the surroundings, and is identified using doctors' observations.

In his lawsuit, the attorney general - who supports Trump who is running for federal office - claims the manufacturer and J&J "deliberately disregarded and tried to quiet the science" around paracetamol and autism.

The case attempts to require the corporations "eliminate any marketing or advertising" that states acetaminophen is safe for women during pregnancy.

This legal action mirrors the grievances of a assembly of parents of minors with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD who sued the producers of acetaminophen in 2022.

Judicial authorities dismissed the legal action, saying investigations from the plaintiffs' authorities was lacking definitive proof.