AUSTIN, Texas (LifeSiteNews) – Texas Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday that his office is suing Tylenol manufacturers Johnson & Johnson and its consumer health spinoff Kenvue for allegedly disregarding potential links between the pain medication and autism in marketing the drug to pregnant mothers after a bombshell claim led by U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Paxton’s office is accusing J&J of “deceptively marketing Tylenol to pregnant mothers despite knowing that early exposure to acetaminophen, Tylenol’s only active ingredient, leads to a significantly increased risk of autism and other disorders, and for allegedly violating the Texas Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act by transferring its liabilities to Kenvue as a way to avoid consequences from suits on behalf of harmed children.

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton said. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”

“Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy. Without it, women face dangerous choices: suffer through conditions like fever that are potentially harmful to both mom and baby or use riskier alternatives. High fevers and pain are widely recognized as potential risks to a pregnancy if left untreated,” Kenvue responded. “We will defend ourselves against these baseless claims and respond per the legal process. We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support.”

The alleged link first received mainstream attention in early September, when Kennedy announced that HHS had identified “aggregation of causes” of autism, and was “now developing sufficient evidence to ask for regulatory action on some of those, or recommendations.”

“Effective immediately, the FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration) will be notifying physicians that the use of acetaminophen – commonly known as Tylenol – during pregnancy can be associated with a risk of increase of autism,” President Donald Trump later said. “For this reason, they are strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy … Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it. It’s not good.”

Notably, the day after Paxton announced the lawsuit, Kennedy struck a more noncommittal tone, telling reporters that while he had his suspicions, he was not yet prepared to state definitively that the off-the-shelf drug causes autism.

“The causative association … between Tylenol given in pregnancy and the perinatal periods is not sufficient to say it definitely causes autism. But it is very suggestive,” RFK said. “There should be a cautious approach to it.”

A longtime left-wing activist best known for his environmental activism and criticisms of the medical establishment, Kennedy found alignment with many conservatives over the COVID-19 lockdowns, vaccines, and mandates. He initially attempted to challenge former President Joe Biden for the Democrat nomination, switched to an independent bid against both Biden and Trump after months of accusing party leadership of having “rigged” the primary process against him, and ultimately dropped out and endorsed Trump in August 2024. Trump embraced Kennedy and after winning chose him for the role of America’s top medical authority, touting a promise to look beyond conventional wisdom for new solutions to health issues.

Since then, conservatives have found his record mixed. While the administration has stood firmly against youth gender “transitions” and for conscience rights, and halted further mRNA vaccine research, its handling of the COVID vaccines has fallen short of the anticipated “reckoning.” The shots are no longer backed by blanket recommendations but remain on the market, and in June the Trump administration approved a new mRNA-based COVID-19 shot from Moderna for “high risk” groups. 

Likewise, they have promised a comprehensive review of the safety data behind abortion pills, but no conclusions have yet materialized, and in fact the FDA has approved a new generic version of mifepristone, claiming it had no choice.