Medical professionals, pregnant people and readers with a relationship to autism are furious about Monday’s announcement from the Trump administration involving Tylenol and its alleged connection to autism.
Within hours of the Guardian publishing a call for responses to the announcement, hundreds sent in their thoughts. Many of these individuals noted that the announcement had fascist undertones and was largely disconnected from the realities of science and the experience of being pregnant. A number of respondents suggested that this announcement was a bad-faith ploy to distract voters from issues that Trump wants removed from the discourse.
“Tylenol can ease the pain of Epstein?” wondered one Georgia-based reader who preferred to remain anonymous.
A Shropshire-based reader who chose to be anonymous said: “Like much that exits Trump’s mouth, one needs to consider the timing and purpose of his utter nonsense. Trump is like a criminal fleeing the scene, pulling down the furniture to create obstacles for his pursuers.”
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Dorian, a New Orleans-based retired therapist, also pointed to the intention of the announcement.
“I think that this is yet another deplorable red herring to divert attention from what could result in impeachment: the truth about Epstein. So far, it appears to be working,” wrote Dorian.
Several readers criticized the Guardian for even continuing the conversation. Jon of Dorset wrote: “Considering my wife doesn’t take paracetamol and we have two autistic children, this is yet more utter rubbish from Trump et al, designed to once again deflect attention from the Epstein files,” adding, “You are equally complicit by spreading this garbage.”
Scientists and medical professionals who responded said they were angry about the lack of scientific foundation for these claims.
“The association is utterly spurious,” said Dr Paul Kiff, a reviewer of medical research based in Suffolk, adding that Trump has no understanding of true research outcomes.
A Colorado-based reader who worked as a receptionist at a longterm-care facility said they “resent the president giving medical advice that is being panned by the experts in this field, and think he should be removed due to his lack of knowledge of all things ‘women’.”
“This is about control. This is about conditioning followers to believe that anything he does is the right thing,” wrote Trish, a nurse based in North Carolina.
Some pregnant readers were also frustrated with the announcement, given that their options for managing pain and illness are already extremely limited.
An anonymous reader from Virginia wrote: “When I was pregnant I most definitely took acetaminophen. Growing a human inside you is kind of painful, dear leaders. My two children have no signs of autism. Maybe learn to read scientific journals instead of Facebook posts?”
“I’m 35 weeks pregnant and currently in the middle of a terrible cold,” wrote Morven, a 37-year-old in Warwickshire. “The only thing the pharmacy are safely allowed to recommend is paracetamol … To say ‘Just don’t take it, there’s no downside’ isn’t just harmful scaremongering about autism and its causes; it’s also blithely ignorant of pregnancy healthcare options. Why am I not surprised by that from Trump?”
Others pointed out that the announcement is in line with Project 2025’s larger agenda of exerting more control over women’s bodies. Other policies that align with this agenda include the state department’s classification of common contraceptives as “abortifacients”, meaning they end rather than prevent pregnancies, directly contradicting the science of how these methods work.
Sophie, a 34-year-old pregnant woman based in Hertfordshire, said she’s “disgusted by the misinformation and misogynistic narrative being spread by Trump and his regime. This is a slippery slope towards The Handmaid’s Tale becoming reality.”
An anonymous reader based in East London added that Trump’s goal is “more coercion and control plus inducing a sense of helplessness and suspicion of scientific experts … distrust of science/experts is a trademark of autocratic rule. All power must converge on the leader.”
Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy and Francisco Franco of Spain each systematically sowed distrust in the scientific consensus of their day to instead forward politically motivated theories of racial purity and eugenics.
Several readers who are either autistic themselves or have autistic offspring chimed in to point out how distressing it is to repeatedly hear your own condition discussed as though it should be avoided at all costs.
A Surrey-based reader with an autistic grandchild wrote: “I am repulsed by the non-scientific, mother-bashing arguments emanating from the White House and the supremely unqualified Kennedy,” adding that neurodiversity should be celebrated, not eradicated.
“Many people on the spectrum are intelligent, creative, ‘left-field’ thinkers,” she wrote. “They do not need a cure. Rejecting neurodivergence in its many forms seems closely related to fascist thinking.”
A UK-based autistic reader wrote: “I am fed up of the negativity and constant suggestion that autism is awful, debilitating, a tragedy, etc” adding, “All this railing against autism and all these conspiracy theories about causes. At what point does it sound like a call to eugenics?”
