🔗 Share this article

The top legal official in Texas Paxton is suing the makers of acetaminophen, asserting the firms withheld alleged dangers that the medication created to pediatric brain development.

This legal action follows four weeks after President Donald Trump publicized an unsubstantiated connection between using Tylenol - referred to as acetaminophen - throughout gestation and autism spectrum disorder in children.

Paxton is suing Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the medication, the exclusive pain medication suggested for pregnant women, and Kenvue, which presently makes it.

In a declaration, he claimed they "deceived the public by making money from discomfort and promoting medication ignoring the dangers."

The company asserts there is insufficient reliable data tying Tylenol to autism spectrum disorder.

"These corporations misled for generations, knowingly endangering numerous people to increase profits," the attorney general, from the Republican party, stated.

The company said in a statement that it was "very worried by the perpetuation of misinformation on the safety of acetaminophen and the likely effects that could have on the well-being of US mothers and children."

On its official site, the company also said it had "continuously evaluated the applicable studies and there is no credible data that demonstrates a verified association between using paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder."

Organizations acting on behalf of medical professionals and health professionals share this view.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said paracetamol - the primary component in Tylenol - is among limited choices for pregnant women to treat pain and fever, which can create significant medical dangers if ignored.

"In multiple decades of studies on the utilization of paracetamol in pregnancy, no reliable research has successfully concluded that the use of paracetamol in any trimester of pregnancy leads to neurodevelopmental disorders in young ones," the organization commented.

This legal action references latest statements from the previous government in claiming the medication is allegedly unsafe.

Recently, Trump generated worry from medical authorities when he told pregnant women to "resist strongly" not to take Tylenol when unwell.

The US Food and Drug Administration then released a statement that medical professionals should consider limiting the usage of Tylenol, while also stating that "a direct connection" between the medication and autism in minors has not been established.

Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who supervises the Food and Drug Administration, had pledged in April to conduct "comprehensive study program" that would establish the source of autism spectrum disorder in a limited time.

But experts advised that finding a single cause of autism spectrum disorder - thought by researchers to be the consequence of a intricate combination of genetic and surrounding conditions - would be difficult.

Autism is a type of permanent neurological difference and impairment that impacts how people experience and interact with the world, and is diagnosed using physician assessments.

In his legal document, the attorney general - aligned with the former president who is running for US Senate - claims the manufacturer and Johnson & Johnson "willfully ignored and tried to quiet the research" around paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder.

The lawsuit attempts to require the firms "destroy any marketing or advertising" that asserts acetaminophen is secure for expectant mothers.

The court case mirrors the complaints of a collection of parents of minors with autism and ADHD who took legal action against the makers of Tylenol in two years ago.

A federal judge threw out the legal action, declaring investigations from the parents' expert witnesses was lacking definitive proof.