Appeals court revives more than 500 lawsuits tying Tylenol to autism
The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on July 13 revived more than 500 lawsuits against Tylenol maker Kenvue that claim taking acetaminophen during pregnancy raises the risk of autism and ADHD in children. The panel found that a district judge had improperly excluded testimony from three experts — including the dean of Harvard’s School of Public Health — whose methods, it said, reflected accepted, if disputed, scientific approaches.
Writing for the court, Judge Guido Calabresi was explicit that the ruling does not decide whether acetaminophen causes autism or ADHD, only that the plaintiffs’ experts should be allowed to testify. There is no firm scientific consensus of such a link, and major health bodies have generally continued to describe the drug as an appropriate option in pregnancy when used as directed.
The decision reopens litigation that had been dismissed and sends the cases back toward trial, where the causation question will be contested. It also lands amid heightened political attention to the acetaminophen-autism claim, which could amplify the reach of a ruling that, on its own terms, resolves only a procedural question about evidence.