This story was originally reported by Shefali Luthra and Barbara Rodriguez of The 19th, and republished through Rewire News Group’s partnership with The 19th News Network. 

The federal government’s reported plans to link pregnant people’s use of acetaminophen—the pain-relief drug sold under the brand name Tylenol—as a cause of autism could worsen their health and stigmatize one of the few treatments pregnant people have for reducing pain and fever, doctors warn.

“Not only is it false to say Tylenol causes autism, it’s really dangerous,” said Dr. Bhaskari Burra, an OB-GYN in Asheville, North Carolina. “If people are hesitant to take Tylenol in pregnancy, it’s really concerning.”

The claim, reported in the Wall Street Journal, is expected to be included in a Health and Human Services report that has not yet been released publicly. It is the latest in a series of efforts by the department, headed by the anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to discourage pregnant people from taking medications that scientific evidence and medical experts say improves........

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