Health Secretary Plans too Link Tylenol Use During Pregnancy to Autism

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to announce that using Tylenol while pregnant might potentially be linked to autism in children,according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.The Department of Health and Human Services said this report is “speculation.”

This follows Kennedy saying in April that HHS would start a large effort to find the cause of autism. Kennedy said they planned to release a full report in September. But, National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya said later the findings might take up to a year.

Kennedy has previously claimed autism is a “preventable disease,” which has drawn strong criticism from many doctors.

How did Tylenol maker Kenvue and HHS respond to the WSJ report?

An HHS spokesperson told CBS News on Friday that the Journal’s report was “speculation.”

“We are using strong science to understand why autism rates are rising in America. Any claims about what’s in the final report are just speculation until we release it,” the spokesperson said.

Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol (which uses acetaminophen), said in a statement that “we have continuously evaluated the science and continue to believe there is no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and autism. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and leading medical organizations agree that acetaminophen is safe to use during pregnancy, and the label provides accurate data.”

Kenvue later added in another statement that “we appreciate