The depths of disinformation are seemingly still yet to be reached by the Trump administration, with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr claiming today that circumcision and Tylenol use cause autism. And he uttered these words, not in some fringe Facebook group or dodgy podcast corner of the internet, but in an actual Cabinet meeting.
Of course, the claims are utterly baseless, a dangerous mix of arrogance and pseudoscience, that once again land hardest on women.
Kennedy’s claim, which he insists is based on a 2015 Danish study, doesn’t hold up under even basic scientific scrutiny. The research showed a correlation, not causation, and experts have long said it proves nothing. But Kennedy confidently told a room full of senior officials that children who are circumcised have “double the rate of autism,” and that it’s “likely because they were given Tylenol.”
He also noted during the meeting that he had watched a TikTok video on Thursday in which a pregnant woman was “gobbling Tylenol” and cursing Trump. “The level of Trump derangement syndrome has now left the political landscape and now in the realm of pathology”, he said. He also added (with palpable confusion over a woman’s anatomy) that the woman was taking Tylenol “with a baby in her placenta.”
Of course, there’s no credible evidence to support RFK’s statements. None. Zilch. Nada.
And while many of us sit here with eyes rolled back so far, they’ve reach the edge of our brains, these statements flow far and wide, receiving airtime, mass contemplation and amplification. The recklessness knows no bounds.
Of course, this isn’t new territory and especially not for Trump and RFK. It seems that a new theory emerges on the daily, pointing the finger squarely on mothers. Don’t take this medicine. Don’t eat that food. Don’t get that vaccine. Don’t do anything “wrong,” or you’ll be responsible for your child’s health forever.
The reality is, autism is complex. It’s influenced by genetics, neurodevelopment, and a whole range of environmental factors we don’t fully understand yet. But that nuance doesn’t play well in headlines or viral posts, so we get pseudo-science and scapegoating instead. It achieves nothing more than confusion, stigma and shame.
But the real danger is that Kennedy isn’t just another loud conspiracy theorist. He’s the US Health Secretary. When he uses that platform to push fringe claims, he undermines trust in every credible health body and professional doing the hard, often thankless work of helping families and communities. He’s not only propagating disinformation but openly creating it much of the time; making the job of every GP, paediatrician, and autism advocate even harder.
Every time a public figure spreads mis or disinformation, it sticks somewhere, and it shapes how people think, chipping away at the fragile trust between the public and science.
Women, and especially mothers, are often left carrying the fallout.
So yes, RFK Jr’s claim is absurd. But it’s also dangerous. Because it adds to a long, toxic history of blaming women for things they never caused and couldn’t control.