Sen. Invoice Cassidy (R-La.), a gastroenterologist who chairs the Senate’s well being committee, is difficult President Donald Trump’s announcement baselessly linking Tylenol use throughout being pregnant to autism and calling on the Health and Human Providers Division to launch any proof it has on the topic.
Cassidy first addressed the president’s phrases on X, saying research don’t again up the claims he made at a clunky press convention on Monday.
“The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case,” Cassidy wrote. “The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem.”
He added that HHS, helmed by vocal well being conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “should release the new data that it has to support this claim.”
Cassidy’s urging got here shortly after Trump instructed pregnant ladies at the very least a dozen occasions: “Don’t take Tylenol,” a model title for the generic drug acetaminophen. The remarks weren’t prompted by any vital new analysis however are consistent with Kennedy’s campaign towards vaccines and different types of fashionable drugs in his search to elucidate autism, which has no single identified trigger.
Trump introduced that the Meals and Drug Administration can be “strongly recommending that women limit Tylenol use during pregnancy unless medically necessary.”
The Louisiana Republican doubled down on his considerations throughout a Tuesday look on an area radio station. The “best” research on Tylenol utilization throughout being pregnant and autism doesn’t again up Trump, he informed Discuss 107.3 host Brian Haldane.
“There is an article out of Sweden ― two million people followed ― and what they did is they looked at someone who had autism and they compared them to a sibling who did not have autism, and they found no association, effectively, between taking Tylenol or not,” Cassidy identified, calling it the “highest quality” and “best controlled” research on the topic.
The findings Trump was referencing Monday seemed to be from “a study which found an association,” he mentioned. “Now that’s the key thing: an association. That doesn’t mean it causes it; it just means that it’s associated.”
Cassidy mentioned he’s already heard from one pregnant girl annoyed by Trump’s announcement.
“I was talking to a woman ― she goes, ‘Oh, this is great. Two men telling me not to take the only thing I can take when my back’s hurting and I’m pregnant,’” he mentioned.
“This is the drug you take when you sprain your ankle and you happen to be pregnant,” Cassidy continued.
Although Trump claimed at Monday’s press convention that there’s no “downside” if moms abstain from Tylenol, a fever reducer, whereas pregnant, medical specialists say that’s false. Untreated fevers throughout being pregnant carry the chance of elevated miscarriage, untimely start and doable start defects, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medication (SMFM) warns.
Cassidy added that an OB/GYN will most likely inform sufferers it’s “safe” to take acetaminophen.
Cassidy publicly wavered on advancing Kennedy’s nomination out of his committee for a full Senate vote, saying he was struggling with the choice as a result of he’s had sufferers who’ve suffered severe, lifelong well being outcomes as a result of they weren’t vaccinated. However he finally sided with the remainder of the Republicans on the committee, advancing Kennedy with a 14-13 vote.
Final month, Cassidy went on to criticize Kennedy for canceling a $500 million funding in vaccine analysis.
“It is unfortunate that the secretary just canceled a half a billion worth of work, wasting the money which is already invested,” he mentioned.
