Texas Top Legal Officer Files Lawsuit Against Acetaminophen Producers Over Autism Spectrum Allegations
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is taking legal action against the makers of Tylenol, alleging the companies withheld safety concerns that the pain reliever posed to children's neurological development.
The lawsuit follows a month after Donald Trump publicized an unproven link between consuming acetaminophen - referred to as paracetamol - while pregnant and autism in children.
The attorney general is suing Johnson & Johnson, which formerly manufactured the drug, the sole analgesic approved for expectant mothers, and the current manufacturer, which currently produces it.
In a official comment, he said they "deceived the public by gaining financially from suffering and marketing drugs without regard for the risks."
Kenvue says there is lacking scientific proof linking Tylenol to autism spectrum disorder.
"These corporations deceived for years, intentionally threatening countless individuals to line their pockets," Paxton, from the Republican party, stated.
The company said in a statement that it was "deeply concerned by the dissemination of inaccurate information on the reliability of acetaminophen and the potential impact that could have on the well-being of American women and children."
On its website, the company also mentioned it had "regularly reviewed the pertinent research and there is no credible data that demonstrates a proven link between consuming paracetamol and autism."
Associations speaking for physicians and health professionals concur.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has stated paracetamol - the primary component in Tylenol - is a restricted selection for women during pregnancy to address pain and fever, which can create significant medical dangers if not addressed.
"In more than two decades of investigation on the utilization of paracetamol in pregnancy, no reliable research has successfully concluded that the consumption of acetaminophen in any period of gestation results in neurological conditions in children," the group stated.
This legal action mentions recent announcements from the former administration in arguing the drug is potentially dangerous.
In recent weeks, the former president raised alarms from public health officials when he told women during pregnancy to "resist strongly" not to consume acetaminophen when ill.
The US Food and Drug Administration then published an announcement that doctors should think about restricting the usage of Tylenol, while also stating that "a causal relationship" between the medication and autism in young ones has not been established.
Health Secretary Kennedy, who oversees the FDA, had vowed in April to conduct "extensive scientific investigation" that would identify the origin of autism spectrum disorder in a limited time.
But specialists warned that identifying a sole reason of autism spectrum disorder - believed by scientists to be the result of a complex mix of inherited and external influences - would prove challenging.
Autism is a category of permanent neurological difference and impairment that influences how people experience and relate to the environment, and is recognized using medical professional evaluations.
In his lawsuit, Paxton - a Trump ally who is campaigning for the Senate - asserts the manufacturer and Johnson & Johnson "willfully ignored and sought to suppress the research" around paracetamol and autism.
The case attempts to require the corporations "eliminate any commercial messaging" that claims Tylenol is secure for expectant mothers.
The Texas lawsuit mirrors the complaints of a assembly of mothers and fathers of children with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who took legal action against the producers of Tylenol in 2022.
Judicial authorities dismissed the legal action, declaring studies from the family's specialists was not conclusive.