🔗 Share this article

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is filing a lawsuit against the producers of acetaminophen, alleging the companies withheld safety concerns that the pain reliever presented to pediatric cognitive development.

The court filing comes a month after Former President Trump publicized an unsubstantiated connection between taking acetaminophen - referred to as paracetamol - throughout gestation and autism in offspring.

Paxton is suing Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the medication, the sole analgesic recommended for pregnant women, and Kenvue, which currently produces it.

In a declaration, he said they "betrayed America by gaining financially from suffering and pushing pills without regard for the potential hazards."

The manufacturer asserts there is insufficient reliable data linking acetaminophen to autism spectrum disorder.

"These corporations misled for generations, deliberately risking numerous people to line their pockets," Paxton, a Republican, declared.

The company stated officially that it was "very worried by the spread of false claims on the security of paracetamol and the potential impact that could have on the welfare of women and children in America."

On its official site, the company also said it had "consistently assessed the relevant science and there is no credible data that shows a proven link between using acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder."

Groups acting on behalf of physicians and medical practitioners share this view.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said acetaminophen - the main ingredient in acetaminophen - is a restricted selection for expectant mothers to manage discomfort and elevated temperature, which can present serious health risks if not addressed.

"In more than two decades of investigation on the use of acetaminophen in pregnancy, no reliable research has definitively established that the consumption of acetaminophen in any period of gestation results in neurological conditions in offspring," the group stated.

The court filing references recent announcements from the previous government in arguing the drug is reportedly hazardous.

Recently, the former president caused concern from health experts when he instructed expectant mothers to "fight like hell" not to consume acetaminophen when unwell.

Federal regulators then issued a notice that medical professionals should consider limiting the usage of acetaminophen, while also declaring that "a proven link" between the medication and autism spectrum disorder in children has not been proven.

Health Secretary RFK Jr, who supervises the FDA, had vowed in spring to initiate "extensive scientific investigation" that would identify the source of autism in a short period.

But authorities warned that discovering a sole reason of autism spectrum disorder - thought by researchers to be the result of a intricate combination of inherited and environmental factors - would not be simple.

Autism spectrum disorder is a category of enduring cognitive variation and impairment that impacts how persons encounter and relate to the world, and is recognized using physician assessments.

In his court filing, the attorney general - who supports Trump who is campaigning for US Senate - alleges the manufacturer and Johnson & Johnson "deliberately disregarded and attempted to silence the science" around acetaminophen and autism.

This legal action seeks to make the corporations "destroy any marketing or advertising" that asserts acetaminophen is secure for expectant mothers.

This legal action mirrors the concerns of a group of parents of children with autism and ADHD who sued the manufacturers of Tylenol in two years ago.

A federal judge dismissed the case, declaring investigations from the parents' expert witnesses was lacking definitive proof.