Families challenging the dismissal of hundreds of lawsuits over Tylenol and autism are asking an appeals court to weigh an unlikely new ally: the Trump White House.
In a letter filed this week, attorney Ashley Keller urged the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to consider President Donald Trump’s recent remarks cautioning pregnant women against using acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol. Trump, flanked by health officials at the White House, repeatedly told expectant mothers to avoid the drug — a position that leaned on research from Andrea Baccarelli, a Harvard public health dean and one of the very experts plaintiffs themselves once relied upon.
That twist, Keller argued, highlights a “separation of powers” concern: if the executive branch credits experts, how can courts deem their work unfit for a jury?
The push comes after a Manhattan federal judge last year tossed out more than 500 cases against Kenvue and major retailers, ruling that plaintiffs’ experts used weak methods that allowed “cherry-picking” evidence. Without reliable science, the judge said, no jury could be asked to weigh the claims.
Kenvue has dismissed the litigation as meritless, noting that the FDA has found no causal link between acetaminophen and autism. Legal observers, too, doubt the appeals court will put much weight on political pronouncements, noting that Trump’s warning wasn’t backed by new studies.
Indeed, the scientific picture remains unsettled. A massive Swedish study of 2.5 million children reported no connection between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism or ADHD. Yet, a sweeping 2025 review of 46 prior studies — including work by Baccarelli — did suggest a possible association, though the authors themselves cautioned it did not prove causation.
The 2nd Circuit is set to hear oral arguments on October 6, where families will try once more to convince judges that their claims deserve a trial.
