Autism Science Foundation Statement on White House Announcement [View all]
We are deeply concerned by today’s announcements from President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy suggesting that taking acetaminophen (Tylenol) during pregnancy causes autism, that a medicine derived from folate can be used to treat symptoms of autism, and that vaccines should be broken up over multiple visits and MMR broken into separate shots.
“Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature,” said Autism Science Foundation Chief Science Officer Dr. Alycia Halladay. “This claim risks undermining public health while also misleading families who deserve clear, factual information. For many years, RFK and President Trump have shared their belief that vaccines cause autism, but this is also not supported by the science, which has shown no relationship between vaccines and autism.”
“We are unsure why this announcement came today and how the conclusions were drawn,” added Alison Singer, President of the Autism Science Foundation. “No new data or scientific studies were presented or shared. No new studies have been published in the literature. No new presentations on this topic were made at scientific or medical conferences. Instead, President Trump talked about what he thinks and feels without offering scientific evidence. He said “tough it out”, meaning don’t take Tylenol or give it to your child. It took me straight back to when moms were blamed for autism. If you can’t take the pain or deal with a fever, then it’s your fault if your child has autism. That was shocking. Simply shocking.”
“What was said today was dangerous”, added Dr. Halladay. “President Trump and Secretary Kennedy downplayed the complexity of autism and suggested that autism rates would decline if pregnant women stopped taking Tylenol and if parents spaced out childhood vaccines. He claimed there were no downsides to these behaviors, which is inconsistent with longstanding public health practices” ...
https://autismsciencefoundation.org/press_releases/asf-statement-wh-briefing/
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