Pictured: Donald Trump

Image credits: Wikimedia Commons

For years, vaccines have been (erroneously) blamed for the rise in autism rates, largely due to a discredited 1998 paper by Andrew Wakefield. However, the Trump administration and various conspiracy theorists, more broadly, have shifted their focus to a new culprit: Tylenol.

At a press conference on 20th September, RFK Jr. and Donald Trump advised pregnant people to refrain from taking the painkiller and cautioned physicians against using it. According to the president, it should only be used as a ‘last resort’ if someone can’t “tough it out”: a statement echoing the misogynistic notion that women are ‘lesser’ as mothers if they suffer ‘less’ during their pregnancy or childbirth.

It is worth noting that acetaminophen is one of the few painkillers, and medications more generally, that someone can safely take while pregnant. Avoiding painkillers could not only harm them, but also the unborn child (who Republicans allegedly wish to ‘protect’).

Since then, RFK Jr. has linked neonatal circumcision to autism due to many babies being given Tylenol following the procedure. There is no reference to the ethical problems of circumcising children, such as how it strips them of their bodily autonomy – his only opposition is based on a hypothetical link with no meaningful evidence to back it.

News outlets, doctors and politicians have been quick to dismiss these claims, as there is no evidence or basis for them. According to a KFF poll, the majority of the American public don’t believe them either. However, the acceptance of these statements as ‘probably’ or ‘definitely’ true are clearly divided along party lines, highlighting the hyper-partisanship that has engulfed America in recent decades.

Various other untrue statements were made in the press conference: Trump said that Cuba has “virtually no autism”, linking it to them “not having Tylenol”. It goes without saying that correlation is not causation, but even the actual premise is untrue. Thousands of Cubans are diagnosed with autism, and there are likely thousands more who are undiagnosed.

It is also disingenuous for Trump to pin the blame on Cuba for their medicine shortage without acknowledging the devastating decades-long embargo the United States has placed on them. His government also reinstated Cuba as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SSOT) within days of his inauguration, despite the concerns of human rights experts.

While more people are being diagnosed as autistic now, the actual number of autistic people who make up the population is likely unchanged. We have far better awareness, education and diagnostic tools to identify autism, particularly in women and girls, who have been historically underrepresented in autism research. Autistic people have always existed — we just haven’t always had the language to describe our lived experiences.

It is a similar phenomenon to left-handedness, which seemingly spiked in Americans born in the 1910s–20s before plateauing around 1960. This didn’t happen because more people were suddenly left-handed, but because it had become more socially acceptable and recognised. With increased acceptance of neurodivergence now than ever before, less autistic people are feeling the need to ‘mask’ (i.e. present themselves as neurotypical).

Furthermore, those who don’t trust ‘mainstream’ medicine are much less likely to take their child to the doctors generally, let alone for an autism screening. Psychiatry is met with the same amount of, if not more, suspicion than vaccination. Autism in unvaccinated children is not lower, it is merely underrepresented as a result of these factors.

Much of the current discourse focuses solely on whether or not certain environmental factors cause autism and misses a simple, yet crucial point: that there’s nothing wrong with being autistic. Anti-vaxx sentiment is not only untrue, but incredibly dangerous and intertwined with eugenics. Effectively, it operates on the logic that it is better to be dead from a preventable illness than neurodivergent.

RFK Jr. referred to autism as a “tragedy” which “destroys families”, and went as far as saying he would give his life to “save one of these kids”. He falsely asserts that once they grow up, autistic children will never find employment, romantic love or… play baseball. It should go without saying that this is deeply ableist and a complete misrepresentation of autism.

Autism is a spectrum; it is in the name of the diagnosis, representing us as a monolith is already misleading and erases any nuance of the autistic experience. Some autistic people, particularly those with co-morbid conditions, will need lifelong care and support, while others can live fully independent lives. Treating people with high support needs as being ‘burdens’ is a slippery slope to dehumanisation, and even outright genocide.

You cannot eradicate autism without eradicating autistic people. We cannot be ‘cured’ because we were never sick in the first place. This obsession to rid us of a fundamental part of who we are has historically led to us being abused, traumatised, and even dying. 

Autism is a disability, but many of the challenges we face are caused or exacerbated by a society that refuses to accommodate anyone who isn’t abled. For instance, the employment rate among autistic adults is much lower than our neurotypical peers, but much of this is the result of discrimination rather than our autism itself. The answer isn’t to target those on the receiving end of ableism, but instead the systemic bias that we regularly face.

Unfortunately, Trump has proven time and time again that he has no regard for the truth or the consequences of his actions: in his own words, he’s “not so careful with what he say[s]”. There is no use naïvely hoping he and his administration will cease to peddle anti-science misinformation. Instead, we must challenge it at every turn. So, the next time you’re told ‘Tylenol causes autism’, don’t only point out that it’s false, but ask: so what?