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On Tuesday, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a suit against pharmaceutical makers Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue for “deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers despite known dangers to unborn children.” The alleged dangers cited by Paxton link the painkiller with “increased risks of autism,” a concern that has been revitalized with the support of President Donald Trump and Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” said Paxton in the news release announcing the suit. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”
Kenvue, in response to the suit, released a statement highlighting that Tylenol has yet to be proven to cause autism.
“Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the people who use our products,” the company said. “We are deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation on the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the health of American women and children.”
Since Kennedy first announced the alleged link between autism and Tylenol, advocacy centers have worked diligently to dispel the rumor.
“Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature,” said Autism Science Foundation chief science officer Dr. Alycia Halladay in a September press release. “This claim risks undermining public health while also misleading families who deserve clear, factual information.”
Texas Actions
Local networks and parents have responded to Paxton’s suit.
“The recently filed lawsuit by the State of Texas, alleging companies failed to warn consumers about ‘possible risks’ of acetaminophen use in pregnancy, sets a dangerous precedent,” said Jacquie Benestante, executive director of the Autism Society of Texas, in an emailed statement. “Suing based on unproven, correlational studies risks turning public health into politics, undermining evidence-based medicine, and eroding trust in safe, essential treatments.”
Benestante highlighted that the causation of autism should be low on the priority list when talking about the disorder.
“In Texas, the real needs of Autistic individuals and families are urgent: schools are closing, attendant wages remain unlivable, teachers are leaving in high numbers and close to 195,000 people remain on waitlists for home and community-based service,” she said. “These are challenges that demand our collective attention and action.”
North Texas Mothers Respond
A muted and blamed voice in the conversation, says Benestante, is the women who have given birth to children with autism.
“This lawsuit sends a harmful message that mothers should be blamed for complex developmental outcomes and deepens previous stigmas,” she said.
Jennifer Erp from Carrollton has a 26-year-old son with autism. For her, talking about Tylenol and autism is simply a waste of time.
“While the autism community appreciates the national attention it is receiving, the current political divisiveness surrounding the issue is disheartening,” she said. “… As individuals requiring substantial support age out of the school system, their caregivers are discovering that Texas offers little in the way of a meaningful safety net.”
Kelly Andrus from Lewisville also has a child with autism, and she echoes that sentiment. The attention is good, but a redirection is needed.
“Lawsuits like these, that lack factual evidence, just take away time and money from the autism crisis in our state,” she said.
Andrus was quick to keep Paxton’s approaching senatorial campaign at the top of mind and encourages other families with autism to remember this when the ballots are ready to be filled.
“If [Paxton] really cared about autism families, he would be doing everything he could to not make our children wait decades for therapy, housing and the funding they so desperately need,” she said. “Instead, he is trying to divert from this crisis and put unwarranted guilt on the families who gave their children Tylenol. He is trying to make headlines. He is a disgrace and has absolutely abandoned this segment of the citizens of Texas and I hope they don’t forget it [come] voting time.”
