US EditionRFK Jr. Says Link Between Circumcision and Autism 'Highly Likely'
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cited flawed studies to link autism to circumcision and Tylenol use, but experts and major health organizations reject these claims as unproven.
- On Oct. 9, 2025, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a White House Cabinet meeting that `There are two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism`, linking it to infants being given Tylenol.
- He cited a 2025 preprint on Preprints.org raising concerns about prenatal acetaminophen and the 2015 Danish study of nearly 343,000 boys, while Kennedy and President Donald Trump warned pregnant women on Sept. 22.
- Experts pointed out that cited studies are observational and cannot establish cause and effect, and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said prudent acetaminophen use during pregnancy shows no clear autism link.
- The reaction was swift online and in politics, with Intaction praising Kennedy while Rep. Jerry Nadler and Melissa Byrne called the comments antisemitic and urged condemnation.
- Medical experts warn the episode could affect evidence‑based policy, urging well‑designed, peer‑reviewed studies and noting genetics play the largest role alongside environmental risk factors.
132 Articles
132 Articles
RFK Jr.’s Inaccurate Claims About Tylenol, Circumcision and Autism
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. further added to the Trump administration’s problematic claims about Tylenol and autism on Oct. 9, alleging during a Cabinet meeting that circumcision-related studies provide evidence that the drug causes the condition when given to children. The studies, however, do no such thing. Weeks earlier, as part of a promised announcement on the causes of autism on Sept. 22, President Donald Trum…
Donald Trump and his Health Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now spread a theory linking autism to the use of Tylenol in circumcised children
RFK Jr. linked circumcision and Tylenol to autism. Here’s what scientists say
At a Cabinet meeting earlier this week, President Donald Trump repeated a now familiar warning: Pregnant people should avoid Tylenol and refrain from giving it to infants. But it was Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s response that ignited a wave of…
Tylenol Claims Are a Microcosm of Trump and RFK’s Wider Attack on Public Health
Trump and RFK’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) commission has come for us, and public health in the U.S. is already suffering. A closer look at the recent debacle in which the Trump administration baselessly claimed that autism is caused by taking acetaminophen during pregnancy offers a microcosm through which to understand the Trump administration’s larger public health agenda
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