WASHINGTON – Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. expanded his crusade against using Tylenol with a cutting-edge warning: boys who were circumcised were twice as likely to be diagnosed with autism later.
“There are two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism,” Kennedy said Thursday at President Donald Trump’s Cabinet meeting. “It’s highly likely because they’re given Tylenol.”
Kennedy and Trump set off a political firestorm on Sept. 22 when they urged pregnant women not to take Tylenol because of the unproven risk that its active ingredient acetaminophen increases the risk of autism.
WATCH: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Trump doubled down on telling pregnant women not to take Tylenol during Thursday’s Cabinet meeting, because they said it is linked to autism. pic.twitter.com/9nnVqbmOrT
— The Hill (@thehill) October 9, 2025
The recommendation remains contentious. Tylenol’s manufacturer, Kenvue, said it continues to evaluate scientific studies but that studies found “no causal link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and fetal developmental issues.”
Acetaminophen is commonly used by pregnant women, who are already advised by the Food and Drug Administration not to use ibuprofen after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists both endorsed using acetaminophen during pregnancy in Sept. 5 statements.
But Trump called on Kennedy during a Cabinet meeting focused on peace negotiations in the Middle East and the lingering government shutdown to reinforce their warnings against Tylenol.
“I would say don’t take Tylenol is you’re pregnant,” Trump said. “And when the baby is born, don’t give it Tylenol.”
Kennedy acknowledged that studies haven’t proven that acetaminophen causes autism, but that correlations with its use are so strong that it would be irresponsible to ignore.
“It’s not dispositive that it causes autism,” Kennedy said. “It’s so suggestive that anybody who takes the stuff during pregnancy is irresponsible.”
The problem is that women are left with few choices for pain relievers during pregnancy – or baby boys after a circumcision.
“You have to tough it out,” Trump said. “It’s easy for me to say.”
