US President Donald Trump has drawn a connection between the use during pregnancy of the popular drug Tylenol and rising autism rates in America, calling the increase in diagnoses “one of the most alarming public health developments in history.”
President Donald J. Trump, @SecKennedy, @DrOzCMS, @NIHDirector_Jay, & @DrMakaryFDA announce the Autism Action Plan.
Make America Healthy Again. pic.twitter.com/1inEvIecYU
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) September 22, 2025
Speaking at a White House briefing alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday, Trump said pregnant women should avoid acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, unless absolutely necessary. He said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would begin updating warning labels and launch an information campaign aimed at pregnant women.
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“Taking Tylenol is not good,” Trump said during the event. “They are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary… If you can’t tough it out, if there’s a problem, you’re going to end up doing it, but ideally you don’t take it at all.”
Citing an increase in autism rates, Trump said the condition has become far more prevalent over the last two decades. “The meteoric rise in autism is among the most alarming public health developments in history,” he said.