Texas Top Legal Officer Takes Legal Action Against Acetaminophen Producers Regarding Autism Claims
The top legal official in Texas Ken Paxton is suing the manufacturers of Tylenol, asserting the companies withheld safety concerns that the drug presented to children's brain development.
The lawsuit arrives thirty days after Former President Trump advocated an unproven link between consuming acetaminophen - also known as acetaminophen - during pregnancy and autism in children.
The attorney general is filing suit against the pharmaceutical giant, which once produced the medication, the sole analgesic recommended for expectant mothers, and the current manufacturer, which currently produces it.
In a declaration, he said they "betrayed America by making money from suffering and pushing pills ignoring the potential hazards."
Kenvue states there is insufficient reliable data tying acetaminophen to autism.
"These companies misled for generations, deliberately risking numerous people to boost earnings," Paxton, a Republican, said.
The manufacturer commented that it was "very worried by the spread of false claims on the security of paracetamol and the likely effects that could have on the welfare of American women and children."
On its official site, the company also stated it had "regularly reviewed the applicable studies and there is no credible data that demonstrates a established connection between taking paracetamol and autism."
Associations acting on behalf of medical professionals and healthcare providers agree.
ACOG has stated acetaminophen - the main ingredient in acetaminophen - is a restricted selection for pregnant women to treat discomfort and elevated temperature, which can pose major wellness concerns if not addressed.
"In multiple decades of investigation on the consumption of paracetamol in pregnancy, not a single reputable study has definitively established that the usage of paracetamol in any stage of pregnancy causes brain development issues in children," the association said.
The lawsuit cites latest statements from the former administration in claiming the drug is allegedly unsafe.
In recent weeks, the former president raised alarms from public health officials when he told women during pregnancy to "fight like hell" not to consume Tylenol when ill.
The US Food and Drug Administration then published an announcement that physicians should contemplate reducing the usage of Tylenol, while also stating that "a direct connection" between the medication and autism spectrum disorder in minors has remains unverified.
The Health Department head Kennedy, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration, had pledged in April to initiate "comprehensive study program" that would determine the cause of autism in a short period.
But authorities advised that identifying a sole reason of autism - thought by researchers to be the outcome of a complicated interplay of genetic and external influences - would prove challenging.
Autism spectrum disorder is a form of permanent neurological difference and impairment that influences how persons experience and engage with the environment, and is identified using medical professional evaluations.
In his legal document, the attorney general - a Trump ally who is seeking US Senate - alleges the manufacturer and J&J "deliberately disregarded and tried to quiet the science" around paracetamol and autism.
The lawsuit seeks to make the firms "eliminate any marketing or advertising" that asserts acetaminophen is secure for pregnant women.
This legal action parallels the complaints of a group of guardians of minors with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD who filed suit against the makers of Tylenol in recently.
A federal judge threw out the legal action, declaring studies from the family's specialists was inconclusive.