Fox News senior medical analyst: “There's absolutely no proof whatsoever” that Tylenol causes autism
Marc Siegel: “I think the reaction has been excessive on the side of caution here”
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From the September 24, 2025, edition of Fox News' America Reports
GILLIAN TURNER (ANCHOR): Talk about what the medical community actually knows today, definitively, about what causes autism, if anything.
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MARC SIEGEL (SENIOR MEDICAL ANALYST): Does acetaminophen during pregnancy cause autism? People out there need to know there's absolutely no proof whatsoever that that's the case. We distinguish between something called an association and something called proof, or cause and effect.
It's possible due to some studies that excess use of acetaminophen could lead to neurodevelopmental problems, like autism, because the fetus, if you think about it, doesn't have a fully developed liver and that's where the Tylenol goes: it goes to the liver to be metabolized. Again a reason why I am saying take less of it, but we are far away from any proof here, and women who are pregnant need to get that fever down. That's why I think the reaction has been excessive on the side of caution here. I'm glad we are cautioning pregnant women, but seems to me that too much caution has come out.