Trump's health secretary faces criticism for linking autism to circumcision

President Donald Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drew backlash from medical experts after promoting an unsubstantiated theory linking autism to circumcision and to pain medication used during the procedure.

During a Cabinet meeting, Trump urged pregnant women and new mothers to avoid acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. “Don’t take Tylenol if you’re pregnant, and when the baby is born, don’t give it Tylenol,” he said.

Kennedy followed by citing two studies he claimed showed “children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism,” adding that the supposed connection was “highly likely because they’re given Tylenol.”

Scientists and health professionals swiftly condemned the remarks, calling them another example of misinformation tied to Kennedy’s long record of promoting pseudoscientific ideas.

“None of this makes sense,” said Helen Tager-Flusberg, a professor at Boston University and an expert on autism. “None of the studies have shown that giving Tylenol to babies is linked to a higher risk for autism once you control for all the confounding variables.”

Medical authorities continue to advise that acetaminophen can be safely used during pregnancy when necessary, in moderation. While some earlier research hinted at a possible association, no causal link between acetaminophen and autism has been proven. The most comprehensive study to date, published in JAMA last year, found no connection at all.

The circumcision theory cited by Kennedy traces back to a 2015 paper from Danish researchers that has been heavily criticized by the scientific community. David Mandell, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, told AFP the study was “riddled with flaws.”

According to Mandell, the research drew on a small sample of Muslim boys circumcised in hospitals rather than at home — a factor likely to bias the results. “Because those children were hospitalized, it’s likely they were otherwise medically compromised, which could explain higher rates of neurodevelopmental disorders,” he said.

He added that more recent reviews have found “no association between circumcision and any adverse psychological effects.”