Texas Top Legal Officer Takes Legal Action Against Tylenol Producers Regarding Autism Spectrum Allegations
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the makers of acetaminophen, asserting the corporations withheld potential risks that the medication presented to pediatric cognitive development.
The court filing arrives four weeks after Former President Trump promoted an unsubstantiated connection between using acetaminophen - referred to as paracetamol - throughout gestation and autism spectrum disorder in children.
The attorney general is filing suit against Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the drug, the only pain reliever suggested for women during pregnancy, and the current manufacturer, which currently produces it.
In a declaration, he said they "betrayed America by making money from discomfort and marketing drugs without regard for the risks."
Kenvue says there is insufficient reliable data connecting Tylenol to autism spectrum disorder.
"These manufacturers lied for decades, knowingly endangering countless individuals to line their pockets," the attorney general, from the Republican party, declared.
The manufacturer commented that it was "very worried by the perpetuation of misinformation on the security of paracetamol and the potential impact that could have on the health of women and children in America."
On its website, Kenvue also mentioned it had "consistently assessed the pertinent research and there is no credible data that indicates a proven link between using acetaminophen and autism."
Groups representing doctors and health professionals agree.
The leading OB-GYN organization has stated paracetamol - the key substance in acetaminophen - is one of the few options for expectant mothers to manage discomfort and fever, which can present serious health risks if left untreated.
"In more than two decades of investigation on the utilization of paracetamol in pregnancy, no reliable research has successfully concluded that the use of paracetamol in any trimester of pregnancy results in brain development issues in offspring," the organization stated.
This legal action mentions latest statements from the previous government in asserting the drug is allegedly unsafe.
Last month, the former president raised alarms from health experts when he advised expectant mothers to "resist strongly" not to consume Tylenol when unwell.
The FDA then released a statement that physicians should contemplate reducing the use of Tylenol, while also mentioning that "a proven link" between the medication and autism in young ones has remains unverified.
The Health Department head Robert F Kennedy Jr, who manages the FDA, had vowed in spring to conduct "a massive testing and research effort" that would establish the cause of autism in a limited time.
But authorities cautioned that discovering a unique factor of autism - considered by experts to be the result of a intricate combination of inherited and environmental factors - would prove challenging.
Autism spectrum disorder is a type of permanent neurological difference and condition that impacts how people encounter and interact with the environment, and is diagnosed using physician assessments.
In his lawsuit, the attorney general - who supports Trump who is seeking the Senate - asserts the manufacturer and Johnson & Johnson "willfully ignored and tried to quiet the evidence" around acetaminophen and autism.
The lawsuit seeks to make the corporations "eliminate any promotional materials" that states Tylenol is secure for expectant mothers.
The Texas lawsuit parallels the complaints of a collection of guardians of young ones with autism and ADHD who sued the producers of acetaminophen in 2022.
Judicial authorities rejected the lawsuit, saying research from the parents' expert witnesses was inconclusive.