Texas Attorney General Sues Acetaminophen Manufacturers Over Autism Claims

The top legal official in Texas Ken Paxton is taking legal action against the makers of acetaminophen, alleging the companies concealed safety concerns that the medication created to pediatric neurological development.

The court filing comes thirty days after Former President Trump advocated an unproven link between using acetaminophen - alternatively called paracetamol - while pregnant and autism in young ones.

Paxton is taking legal action against Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the medication, the only pain reliever suggested for expectant mothers, and the current manufacturer, which presently makes it.

In a declaration, he said they "deceived the public by profiting off of pain and marketing drugs regardless of the potential hazards."

Kenvue says there is insufficient reliable data linking acetaminophen to autism.

"These manufacturers misled for generations, intentionally threatening countless individuals to increase profits," the attorney general, from the Republican party, said.

The company said in a statement 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 well-being of US mothers and children."

On its official site, the company also mentioned it had "regularly reviewed the pertinent research and there is lacking reliable evidence that demonstrates a verified association between consuming acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder."

Organizations acting on behalf of physicians and healthcare providers concur.

ACOG has said acetaminophen - the key substance in Tylenol - is among limited choices for women during pregnancy to manage pain and fever, which can present significant medical dangers if ignored.

"In multiple decades of research on the utilization of paracetamol in gestation, no reliable research has definitively established that the consumption of acetaminophen in any stage of pregnancy leads to neurological conditions in children," the organization commented.

The court filing cites latest statements from the Trump administration in arguing the drug is potentially dangerous.

Last month, the former president raised alarms from public health officials when he instructed expectant mothers to "fight like hell" not to consume Tylenol when unwell.

Federal regulators then published an announcement that medical professionals should consider limiting the usage of acetaminophen, while also stating that "a causal relationship" between the drug and autism spectrum disorder in children has not been proven.

The Health Department head RFK Jr, who manages the FDA, had pledged in April to conduct "extensive scientific investigation" that would identify the cause of autism spectrum disorder in a short period.

But specialists cautioned that finding a unique factor of autism - thought by researchers to be the consequence of a complex mix of inherited and surrounding conditions - would prove challenging.

Autism spectrum disorder is a type of lifelong neurodivergence and condition that affects how people perceive and interact with the surroundings, and is diagnosed using doctors' observations.

In his lawsuit, the attorney general - aligned with the former president who is seeking the Senate - claims Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson "intentionally overlooked and sought to suppress the science" around acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder.

The case attempts to require the companies "eliminate any commercial messaging" that claims acetaminophen is reliable for expectant mothers.

The Texas lawsuit mirrors the complaints of a assembly of mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD who took legal action against the producers of acetaminophen in two years ago.

A federal judge threw out the case, saying research from the plaintiffs' authorities was lacking definitive proof.