A Presidential Warning 

“It won’t be as easy, maybe, but don’t take it. If you’re pregnant, don’t take Tylenol,” Trump said in a White House press conference, including his lead health officials.  As the president of the United States of America, his official statements are supposedly the truth and serve to act in the interest of the nation, with approximately 51% of the general population being women. However, many health experts look to this advice as misleading and possibly harmful. Could this advice be indicative of a larger movement of lack of scientific research in political forums? Is there any basis of verification in this widely alarming statement?

In April 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stated that by September 2025 the cause of the autism “epidemic” would be found. Previously, he has attributed the cause of autism to vaccines, which has since been discredited.

On September 22nd, 2025, President Trump stated that the Food and Drug Administration would discourage the use of acetaminophen for pregnant women due to a possible link with autism.

Science or Speculation

Upon this statement, the White House website stated that “predictably, the Fake News immediately went into frenzied hyperventilation with their usual smears, distortions, and lies”. Looking deeper into the studies, however, the link between autism and Tylenol hinges upon many “maybes” and “probablys”.

The White House website cited several studies that proposed a potential risk of autism due to acetaminophen use. The primary article of evidence was titled “Using acetaminophen during pregnancy may increase children’s autism and ADHD risk”.

That piece of evidence, a study done by Harvard University, involved Ann Bauer, an epidemiologist, who herself stated “I’m a little concerned about how this message is going to come because I think they may be jumping the gun…I think those of us in the research community would like to see stronger evidence”.

Researchers have made it clear that there is a stark lack of evidence for this extremely bold claim by President Trump. Even the FDA stated that the fever and pain in pregnant women is harmful to maternal and fetal health in comparison to what Tylenol could possibly do (key word—possibly). The FDA also stated that “a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in scientific literature”.

“The findings need to be tested in larger studies”, researchers stated. “Until then, people should not be afraid to take acetaminophen for fever or serious pain and discomfort during pregnancy. Conditions like a very high fever can be dangerous and using a drug like acetaminophen will likely help”.

Gender in Public Health

Acetaminophen is cited previously as one of the only safe and authorized pain relievers for pregnant individuals. In a scoping statement, President Trump has discouraged the use of this drug for all women. With such a lack of confirmed and substantial evidence, this statement was unwarranted and will only harm pregnant women for the time being.

President Trump stated that pregnant women should “fight like hell” to take Tylenol only in cases of extreme fever. Trump’s statement implies a level of understanding of what pregnant women undergo during pregnancy, which may be misled or ignorant to proclaim as a biological male.

Women’s health is significantly underfunded and under-researched. The focus suddenly on maternal health is ironic, and it’s almost offensive that its consensus would encourage women to “fight like hell” through pregnancy, despite the myriad of symptoms that are already detrimental to women’s health, such as severe headaches, preeclampsia, and extreme fevers.

A Crisis of Research

There should not be a “rush” to find the cause of autism. Any scientific fact has to be rigorously proven, and, while there are potential links, no confirmation has been found. As Mounties learn in their science classes, there’s a process to rejecting or failing to reject a hypothesis. There is a scientific method that is repeated until a conclusion.

Mount biology teacher Mrs. Ryan affirms the importance of significant scientific research, stating that “making a valid scientific claim takes careful observation and must be backed by solid evidence that can stand up to questioning. Good scientists don’t jump to conclusions to prove what they want to be true – they test, retest, and report results honestly, even when the outcomes don’t match their initial expectations. Accurate research matters because every conclusion we draw affects how we understand the world, treat diseases, and protect our planet. In the end, truth in science comes from patience, precision, and integrity.”

Despite all of the studies the White House has cited, there is an extreme lack of confirmation to this claim, and when the President is directing the entire nation, there absolutely has to be significance to his claim. In this case, this unproven claim could be to the detriment of the majority of the nation.