The Trump administration just announced a program of actions to tackle the so-called “autism epidemic”, a term that is disputed by many within the autistic community. As well as seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for a new drug treatment, safety label changes are being pursued for acetaminophen (paracetamol) due to a “potential association” between its use in pregnancy and neurodevelopmental conditions.

They told us way back in April that they would “know” the causes of autism by September. As predicted, the new announcements from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot go as far as that, but they do bring forth a suite of “bold actions” that many scientific experts say are not supported by any quality data and that, in short, are going too far, too fast.
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“Following the science”, however, is the last thing these policies are doing, according to some experts.

“The best available evidence is that paracetamol use in pregnancy is not linked to autism,” Dr Edward Mullins, Clinical Associate Professor at Imperial College London, told the Science Media Centre. “In the absence of any new evidence, the reported press release from the Trump administration claiming it is would appear to be an unsubstantiated theory which is likely to lead to an essential treatment for fever and pain being denied to women in pregnancy without good reason, contrary to US and European medical guidance.”

“The fear mongering will prevent women from accessing the appropriate care during pregnancy,” said Dr Monique Botha, Associate Professor at Durham University. “Further, it risks stigmatising families who have autistic children as having brought it on themselves and reinvigorates the long pattern of maternal shame and blame as we’ve seen re-emerge repeatedly over the last 70 years where we try to pay the fault of autism at the mother’s door one way or another.”

The makers of Tylenol, Kenvue, pushed back strongly as well, telling the BBC that they are “deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expectant mothers.”