Senate Majority Leader John Thune voiced his reservations Wednesday with the Trump administration linking Tylenol use in pregnancy to autism in children, indicating he was “very concerned” about the impact the warning could have on women.
Thune (R-SD), during an appearance on CNN’s “Inside Politics,” appeared skeptical that recent claims about the popular pain reliever and autism, made by President Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., are conclusively backed by scientific evidence.
“Well, I’m obviously very concerned about that,” the Senate Republican leader responded, when asked by CNN host Dana Bash if he worries Monday’s announcement could adversely affect the health of women and their babies.
“I think that science ought to guide these discussions, these conversations and our decision making around our health,” Thune argued. “There are studies out there that they reference – but again, I think there are an awful lot of people in the medical community who would come to a different conclusion about the use of Tylenol.”
“We ought to be very guarded in making broad assertions and make sure that they are well grounded in science and medicine and where we’re taking the consultation advice of experts in the field and ensuring that these things are all well documented,” he added.
Trump, RFK Jr. and other top administration health officials announced Monday that acetaminophen, the main ingredient in Tylenol, can lead to a “very increased risk of autism.”
The White House cited multiple studies which it claimed show “acetaminophen use in pregnant women, especially late in pregnancy, may cause long-term neurological effects in their children,” in a fact sheet related to the announcement.
The studies appear to show associations between acetaminophen use and autism in children but do not establish a direct link between the drug and the neurodevelopmental disorder.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Kenvue (the maker of Tylenol) are among those that have disputed the Trump administration’s findings.
“The secretary has a responsibility, an obligation, to restore and return the trust of the American people in the decision making process there, and I think the way to do that is to make sure that decisions are grounded in science,” Thune continued.
“There needs to be oversight, there needs to be accountability, and there needs to be transparency into this decision making process [to] ensure that it is governed by science,” he added.
On Tuesday, Sen. Bill Cassidy, a licensed physician who chairs the Senate committee that oversees health care policy, argued that the “preponderance of evidence” shows there is no solid link between acetaminophen and a spike in autism diagnoses.
Cassidy (R-La.) called on Kennedy to release the data used by the Trump administration “to support this claim.“
“The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy,” the senator wrote on X. “We must be compassionate to this problem.”
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