A Texas lawsuit no longer seems to have much support from one important US government agency.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy were on the same page until this week: Both were saying publicly that some people shouldn't take Tylenol because it might have a link to autism, especially pregnant women.
On Tuesday, Attorney General Paxton sued Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, both makers of Tylenol, accusing them of knowingly hiding the drug's links to autism, along with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Attorney General Paxton's suit came a little more than a month after President Donald Trump said pregnancy use of the drug, known generically as acetaminophen, can cause autism
"Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks," Mr. Paxton said Tuesday. "These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets. ... By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again."
But then Wednesday, Secretary Kennedy started to walk back some similar allegations he's made, saying there's not enough evidence to link the drug with autism.
"The causative association ... between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal period is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism," Secretary Kennedy added, seemingly qualifying rather than actually retracting his earlier statements on the drug.
"But it is very suggestive."