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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the makers of Tylenol, alleging the companies hid the drug’s alleged dangers to children’s brain development.
The lawsuit comes a month after President Donald Trump promoted an unproven link between taking Tylenol — also known as paracetamol — during pregnancy and autism in children.
Paxton is suing Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the drug, the only pain reliever recommended for pregnant women, and Kenvue, which now manufactures it. In a statement, he said they “betrayed America by profiting from pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks.”
Kenvue says there is no credible evidence linking Tylenol to autism.
“These corporations lied for decades, knowingly putting millions at risk to line their pockets,” said Paxton, a Republican.
Kenvue said in a statement that it is “deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation about the safety of acetaminophen and the potential impact it may have on the health of American women and children.”
On its website, Kenvue also said it has “continually evaluated the relevant science and there is no credible data showing a proven link between acetaminophen intake and autism.”
Organizations representing physicians and health care providers agree.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said acetaminophen — the main ingredient in Tylenol — is one of the few options for pregnant women to treat pain and fever, which can pose a serious health risk if left untreated.
“In more than two decades of research on acetaminophen use during pregnancy, no reputable study has successfully concluded that acetaminophen use during any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children,” the group said.
The lawsuit cites recent announcements from the Trump administration claiming the drug is dangerous.
Last month, Trump drew alarm from public health officials when he told pregnant women to “fight like hell” not to take Tylenol when they’re sick.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) then issued a notice that doctors should consider limiting the use of Tylenol, while stating that a “causal relationship” between the drug and autism in children has not been established.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who leads the FDA, promised in April to launch a “massive testing and research effort” to determine the cause of autism within months.
However, experts warned that finding a single cause of autism – believed by researchers to be the result of a complex combination of genetic and environmental factors – will not be easy. Autism is a form of neurodivergence and lifelong disability that affects the way people experience and interact with the world, and is diagnosed through observations by doctors.
In his lawsuit, Paxton — a Trump ally who is running for the U.S. Senate — alleged that Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson “willfully ignored and attempted to silence the science” surrounding acetaminophen and autism.
The lawsuit aims to get the companies to “strike down any marketing or advertising” that claims Tylenol is safe for pregnant women.
The Texas case echoes the complaints of a group of parents of children with autism and ADHD who sued the makers of Tylenol in 2022.
A federal judge dismissed the case, saying the parents’ experts’ research was inconclusive.
