Texas Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Acetaminophen Producers Regarding Autism Assertions
The top legal official in Texas Ken Paxton is suing the manufacturers of acetaminophen, claiming the companies withheld safety concerns that the medication presented to children's brain development.
This legal action arrives thirty days after President Donald Trump promoted an unverified association between taking Tylenol - alternatively called paracetamol - throughout gestation and autism spectrum disorder in children.
Paxton is filing suit against Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the medication, the sole analgesic recommended for expectant mothers, and Kenvue, which currently produces it.
In a declaration, he said they "misled consumers by gaining financially from discomfort and marketing drugs ignoring the potential hazards."
The company says there is no credible evidence tying acetaminophen to autism.
"These manufacturers misled for generations, deliberately risking numerous people to boost earnings," Paxton, a Republican, declared.
The company said in a statement that it was "very worried by the dissemination of inaccurate information on the security of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the welfare of US mothers and children."
On its online platform, the company also said it had "continuously evaluated the relevant science and there is lacking reliable evidence that indicates a verified association between using paracetamol and autism."
Associations representing medical professionals and healthcare providers share this view.
ACOG has said paracetamol - the primary component in Tylenol - is a restricted selection for expectant mothers to address pain and fever, which can create serious health risks if not addressed.
"In more than two decades of investigation on the use of paracetamol in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the consumption of acetaminophen in any period of pregnancy leads to brain development issues in young ones," the group said.
The lawsuit mentions current declarations from the previous government in arguing the medication is reportedly hazardous.
In recent weeks, Trump raised alarms from medical authorities when he told pregnant women to "fight like hell" not to take acetaminophen when sick.
The US Food and Drug Administration then published an announcement that doctors should consider limiting the usage of Tylenol, while also mentioning that "a proven link" between the drug and autism in minors has remains unverified.
The Health Department head Kennedy, who supervises the Food and Drug Administration, had pledged in spring to conduct "comprehensive study program" that would determine the cause of autism spectrum disorder in a limited time.
But authorities advised that finding a single cause of autism - considered by experts to be the outcome of a intricate combination of genetic and environmental factors - would be difficult.
Autism spectrum disorder is a form of permanent neurological difference and disability that influences how individuals encounter and relate to the environment, and is diagnosed using medical professional evaluations.
In his lawsuit, the attorney general - a Trump ally who is running for US Senate - alleges Kenvue and J&J "deliberately disregarded and tried to quiet the evidence" around paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder.
The lawsuit attempts to require the firms "remove any promotional materials" that states acetaminophen is safe for women during pregnancy.
The Texas lawsuit echoes the concerns of a assembly of parents of young ones with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who took legal action against the producers of acetaminophen in recently.
Judicial authorities dismissed the case, stating studies from the family's specialists was inconclusive.