Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, sued the makers of Tylenol on Tuesday, alleging that the companies hid the drug’s risks to brain development in children.
The lawsuit is the latest consequence of . This link has not been proven.
Paxton filed the lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, which sold Tylenol for decades, and Kenvue, a spun-off company that has been selling the drug since 2023.
FREE TOOL
XP simulator
Find out in 1 minute how much your money can yield
The Texas lawsuit alleges that the companies knowingly withheld evidence from consumers about Tylenol’s links to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The lawsuit also claims that Kenvue was created to protect Johnson & Johnson from liabilities related to Tylenol.
This is the first lawsuit filed by a state taking advantage of Trump’s claims that using acetaminophen products, such as Tylenol, during pregnancy could cause neurodevelopmental disorders. The issue has been a long-standing concern among some followers of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the country’s top health official, but the idea gained strength with Trump’s statements.
Continues after advertising
Kenvue has repeatedly defended the safety of Tylenol and rejected Trump’s claims about the drug’s use during pregnancy and autism.
“We will defend ourselves against these unfounded allegations and respond in accordance with legal process,” Kenvue spokeswoman Melissa Witt said Tuesday. “We stand firmly with the global medical community that recognizes the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support.”
In another lawsuit, Johnson & Johnson said it has always acted responsibly in warning consumers about the proven risk of liver damage from excessive use of Tylenol.
Clare Boyle, a spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson, said Tuesday that the company “divested its consumer health business years ago, and all rights and responsibilities associated with the sale of its over-the-counter products, including Tylenol (acetaminophen), belong to Kenvue.”
Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed in state and federal courts in recent years by families who claim their children were diagnosed with autism or ADHD after using Tylenol during pregnancy.
In the largest group of cases, filed in federal court, a U.S. judge in New York dismissed the lawsuits, citing a lack of reliable scientific evidence. The plaintiffs are appealing the decision, with a hearing scheduled for November 17.
Continues after advertising
For years, scientists have been researching a possible connection between acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders, but studies so far have yielded mixed results.
Medical groups disputed the Trump administration’s warning in September, saying Tylenol is the only painkiller safe to use during pregnancy to treat high fevers. If left untreated, these fevers pose serious risks to the health of the baby and mother.
Trump ally
Paxton, who is challenging incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in next year’s Republican primary, has been aggressive in bringing lawsuits in line with Trump’s priorities. He challenged the results of the 2020 election, sued nonprofits that advocate for immigrant rights and sought to remove Democratic lawmakers from office in Texas during a dispute over redrawing voting districts.
Continues after advertising
While not always successful, Paxton’s legal efforts have generated strong support among Texas Republicans.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it was seeking to include a warning on the drug’s label about the connection to neurodevelopmental disorders. Kenvue said it would oppose the changes, arguing they are “not supported by existing science.”
The Trump administration and Paxton’s lawsuit cite a recent scientific review conducted by epidemiologists at Harvard’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health and Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine. That study, which evaluated existing scientific findings but produced no new data, found evidence of a link between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and the development of autism and ADHD in childhood.
Continues after advertising
More than half of the 46 studies included in the review found a positive correlation between the use of the medication during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders in children. But scientists warn that studies do not prove that acetaminophen causes autism, which is known to be linked to a complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors.
Pregnant women who take acetaminophen may differ in important ways from those who do not, including genetically. A large study of nearly 2.5 million children born in Sweden concluded that, when considering the mother’s genetics, there was no association between acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Studies by health agencies — including the FDA and European Medicines Agency — have evaluated the evidence and concluded that the results are inconclusive.
Continues after advertising
On Sunday, Trump addressed the issue again on his social media platform, Truth Social. “Pregnant women, DO NOT USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY,” he wrote.
The leading law firm representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases, Keller Postman, also serves as outside counsel in Paxton’s lawsuit.
These plaintiffs’ cases must overcome the high standard of proving that the drug caused neurodevelopmental disorders in the children and that the families should receive compensation.
But Paxton’s lawsuit takes a different line, arguing that Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue violated Texas law by failing to inform consumers about the possible risks of using Tylenol during pregnancy.
Texas courts are often challenging for plaintiffs in personal injury cases. Paxton’s decision to file the lawsuit in a conservative, rural county near the Louisiana border may have been a strategy to find a court sympathetic to his case.
c.2025 The New York Times Company
