United States health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday courted a controversy by asserting an unproven link between circumcision , the use of Tylenol , and autism , during a meeting with president Donald Trump and Cabinet members.
Kennedy claimed that infant boys who are circumcised have double the rate of autism because they are given Tylenol after the procedure.
The statement appeared to reference a 2015 study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, which examined ritual circumcision and the risk of autism spectrum disorder among boys under the age of 10 in Denmark.
The study found that circumcised boys were more likely to be diagnosed with autism, though researchers clearly stated they had no data on painkillers or anaesthetics used and therefore could not establish any connection to Tylenol.
Experts have since noted that the study showed only correlation, not causation, and that multiple subsequent studies have found no evidence supporting a link between circumcision or Tylenol and autism.
Despite this, Kennedy reiterated the claim at the Cabinet meeting, telling Trump and others: “Anybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy unless they have to is, is irresponsible. It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof.”
He also repeated the broader, discredited theory connecting Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism and added that those who dismissed his claims were motivated by hatred for President Trump.
Kennedy described watching a TikTok video featuring a pregnant woman “gobbling Tylenol” and cursing Trump.
“The level of Trump derangement syndrome has now left the political landscape and now in the realm of pathology,” he said, according to news agency AP.
At one point, Kennedy also mistakenly said the woman was taking Tylenol “with a baby in her placenta,” confusing the placenta with the uterus, an anatomical inaccuracy that quickly drew ridicule online.
The comments have renewed concern among medical experts that Kennedy, long known for promoting unconventional and scientifically disputed health beliefs, could undermine evidence-based public health policy as health secretary.
Kennedy’s remarks came just two weeks after he stood beside Trump at the White House , where both promoted unproven and discredited theories linking Tylenol, vaccines, and autism.
Kennedy claimed that infant boys who are circumcised have double the rate of autism because they are given Tylenol after the procedure.
The statement appeared to reference a 2015 study in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, which examined ritual circumcision and the risk of autism spectrum disorder among boys under the age of 10 in Denmark.
The study found that circumcised boys were more likely to be diagnosed with autism, though researchers clearly stated they had no data on painkillers or anaesthetics used and therefore could not establish any connection to Tylenol.
Experts have since noted that the study showed only correlation, not causation, and that multiple subsequent studies have found no evidence supporting a link between circumcision or Tylenol and autism.
Despite this, Kennedy reiterated the claim at the Cabinet meeting, telling Trump and others: “Anybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy unless they have to is, is irresponsible. It is not proof. We're doing the studies to make the proof.”
He also repeated the broader, discredited theory connecting Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism and added that those who dismissed his claims were motivated by hatred for President Trump.
Kennedy described watching a TikTok video featuring a pregnant woman “gobbling Tylenol” and cursing Trump.
“The level of Trump derangement syndrome has now left the political landscape and now in the realm of pathology,” he said, according to news agency AP.
At one point, Kennedy also mistakenly said the woman was taking Tylenol “with a baby in her placenta,” confusing the placenta with the uterus, an anatomical inaccuracy that quickly drew ridicule online.
The comments have renewed concern among medical experts that Kennedy, long known for promoting unconventional and scientifically disputed health beliefs, could undermine evidence-based public health policy as health secretary.
Kennedy’s remarks came just two weeks after he stood beside Trump at the White House , where both promoted unproven and discredited theories linking Tylenol, vaccines, and autism.
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