Texas Lawyer Common Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit in opposition to Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson, claiming using Tylenol results in greater threat of autism and that the over-the-counter drug is deceptively marketed to pregnant ladies as protected.
Many medical consultants have disputed such claims.
The lawsuit, dated Monday, alleges Johnson & Johnson and Tylenol maker Kenvue, which separated from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, knew for many years “that acetaminophen — Tylenol’s lively ingredient — is harmful to unborn kids and younger kids. But they hid this hazard and deceptively marketed Tylenol as the one protected painkiller for pregnant ladies.”
Within the lawsuit, Paxton pointed to the Trump administration’s claims about acetaminophen’s dangers, saying that: “the federal authorities confirmed what Defendants knew for years: acetaminophen use throughout being pregnant doubtless causes situations like [autism] and [attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder].”
Paxton additionally accused Johnson & Johnson of transferring its liabilities arising from Tylenol to Kenvue so as to defend its property from potential lawsuits associated to Tylenol and its alleged “dangerous affect” on kids.
Kenvue mentioned in a press release that Texas’ claims “lack authorized advantage and scientific help” and vowed to defend itself in litigation. It maintained that acetaminophen “is the most secure ache reliever possibility for pregnant ladies as wanted all through their total being pregnant.”
“We’re deeply involved by the perpetuation of misinformation on the security of acetaminophen and the potential affect that might have on the well being of American ladies and youngsters,” Kenvue mentioned.
Kenvue additionally warned that failing to deal with fevers and different illnesses with acetaminophen might additionally expose pregnant ladies to well being dangers.
“With out it, ladies face harmful selections: undergo by way of situations like fever which are doubtlessly dangerous to each mother and child or use riskier alternate options,” Kenvue’s assertion continued. “Excessive fevers and ache are well known as potential dangers to a being pregnant if left untreated.”
A Johnson & Johnson spokesperson mentioned in a press release to CBS Information: “Johnson & Johnson divested its shopper well being enterprise years in the past, and all rights and liabilities related to the sale of its over-the-counter merchandise, together with Tylenol (acetaminophen), are owned by Kenvue.”
In September, President Trump, standing alongside Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., introduced the FDA would instantly notify physicians “that using acetaminophen throughout being pregnant may be related to a really elevated threat of autism.”
Kennedy mentioned the FDA based mostly its determination on research that “recommend a possible affiliation between acetaminophen used throughout being pregnant and hostile neurodevelopmental outcomes,” together with one research within the public well being journal Environmental Well being. He added that “NIH [National Institutes of Health] analysis groups are presently testing a number of hypotheses.”
After the Trump administration issued its warning about Tylenol, many high medical consultants within the area pressured that scientific proof doesn’t help such issues. The American Faculty of Obstetricians and Gynecologists mentioned in a press release supplied to CBS Information that “there isn’t a clear proof that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen throughout being pregnant and fetal developmental points.”
—Marc Schwartz contributed to this text.
