President Donald Trump has drawn sharp criticism from the scientific community after urging pregnant women to avoid the common pain reliever paracetamol (acetaminophen) and demanding a change to the infant vaccination schedule.
His remarks, made at a White House event on Autism Spectrum Disorder, were seen as an exaggeration of a negligible correlation. At the event, Trump repeatedly warned expectant parents to “fight like hell” against taking paracetamol, citing an unsubstantiated link between the drug and autism spectrum disorder. “Let’s put it this way, taking paracetamol is not a good thing, it’s only justified in cases of extremely high fever,” the president stated.
A large number of doctors immediately condemned Trump’s statement as dangerous and misleading. Paracetamol, which is among the most frequently used drugs during pregnancy worldwide, has long been considered by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as one of the safest treatments for pain and fever during pregnancy. Experts argue that untreated pain and fever can harm both the mother and the fetus.
“This was a dangerous, unscientific, and misinformation-filled presentation,” said Arthur Caplan, head of the Division of Medical Ethics at New York University, in an interview with AFP. “Pregnant women may now feel guilty or scared for using a safe medication. These accusations are unjust and have no scientific basis.”
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has added a warning about a “possible connection” to paracetamol labels, the agency has emphasized that a link between its use during pregnancy and autism has not been established. Furthermore, large-scale studies in Sweden and Japan, involving millions of children, have found no clinically significant increase in the risk of autism related to prenatal paracetamol use.
David Mandell, a psychiatric epidemiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, notes that the potential risks associated with taking paracetamol for fever and pain during pregnancy are less than the risk of an untreated infection. High fever can harm both the mother and the fetus, and paracetamol reduces this risk.
James Cusack, CEO of the British autism charity Autistica, stated that “there is no compelling evidence to suggest that the use of paracetamol by mothers is a cause of autism.” He said that seeking simple answers to complex problems contributes to misinformation.
In addition to paracetamol, Trump also raised long-disproven notions about childhood vaccinations. He questioned standard immunizations, including the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, and stated that “there’s no reason” for newborns to be vaccinated against Hepatitis B, which contradicts public health guidelines.
In response to Trump’s statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics immediately issued a warning that delaying vaccines or extending the intervals between doses makes children “vulnerable at a time when they are at the highest risk” of serious diseases. There is no scientific evidence to support a link between vaccines and autism.
Trump’s comments underscore the growing danger of politicizing healthcare. Critics say that disregarding evidence-based medicine undermines public trust in safe treatments and immunizations.
