President Donald Trump on Monday repeatedly urged pregnant girls to not take acetaminophen, claiming that doing so is linked to a “very elevated danger of autism.” His remarks—which instantly drew warnings and pushback from specialists—contradicts main medical recommendation that acetaminophen, when used correctly, is protected throughout being pregnant.
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The President, who doesn’t have a medical background, supplied no new proof to assist his assertion, and plenty of revered medical organizations—together with the American Faculty of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Drugs—have rejected the declare, emphasizing that years of analysis have discovered no causal hyperlink between the usage of acetaminophen throughout being pregnant and autism. Consultants have additionally identified that acetaminophen helps handle ache and fever, each of which will be very harmful to pregnant folks and fetuses if left untreated. It’s the solely over-the-counter remedy accredited to deal with fevers throughout being pregnant.
Trump, who has appointed a number of vaccine and local weather change skeptics to key positions in his administrations, has made various different false and questionable claims about well being and science over time. Listed here are a few of the most notable ones.
Learn Extra: Trump Hyperlinks Tylenol to Autism. What Does the Science Present?
COVID-19
Trump made quite a few false claims associated to the COVID-19 pandemic throughout his first time period, together with on many events downplaying the specter of the virus. In July 2020, as an illustration, he asserted that “99%” of the circumstances “are completely innocent”—which a majority of public-health specialists and information, together with from his Administration, had proven by then was not the case.
Trump made deceptive comparisons between the virus and the flu as nicely, writing in a social media put up in October 2020: “Flu season is arising! Many individuals yearly, generally over 100,000, and regardless of the Vaccine, die from the Flu. Are we going to shut down our Nation? No, now we have discovered to reside with it, identical to we’re studying to reside with Covid, in most populations far much less deadly!!!” In depth information and analysis carried out by well being and science specialists have proven that COVID-19 is deadlier and extra contagious than influenza viruses.
The President additionally promoted unproven remedies for the virus, together with suggesting that injecting disinfectant into the physique might be a doable remedy and proposing that researchers examine whether or not hitting the physique with “ultraviolet or simply very highly effective mild” may assist fight the virus. Medical doctors and public-health specialists extensively warned the general public to not inject or ingest disinfectants, cautioning that doing so is harmful.
In March 2020, Trump promoted chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine, two antimalarial medicine, as doable remedies to the virus: “I believe it might be one thing actually unbelievable,” he stated on the time. Whereas he acknowledged that extra analysis wanted to be carried out, he additionally stated that the medicine have been displaying “very, very encouraging outcomes.” Dr. Anthony Fauci, then the nation’s main infectious illness skilled, and different federal well being officers pushed again on Trump’s remarks, emphasizing that there was no confirmed drug to deal with the virus on the time, and that the 2 antimalarial medicine have probably harmful unwanted effects.
Local weather change
Trump has repeatedly denied the existence of local weather change. In April 2022, he referred to as it “a hoax;” the next 12 months, he referred to it as “one of many biggest con jobs ever.” The overwhelming consensus amongst scientists, primarily based on many years of analysis, is that the planet is warming and that the change is being brought on by human-generated emissions of greenhouse gases.
Trump has additionally advised that, as a result of chilly climate occasions are nonetheless going down, local weather change can’t be taking place. However many local weather scientists have discredited this argument, saying that freezing occasions can happen even amid local weather change—however as time goes on, these chilly occasions will occur much less typically and received’t final as lengthy.
On Tuesday, Trump echoed his earlier feedback on local weather change, calling it the “biggest con job ever perpetuated” and a “rip-off” whereas addressing the United Nations Basic Meeting.
The President has additionally made various false or deceptive statements concerning renewable vitality whereas pushing to develop the manufacturing of fossil fuels, the usage of which has been recognized because the fundamental supply of people’ greenhouse gasoline emissions. A vocal opponent of wind energy, Trump has, as an illustration, claimed with out proof that the noise from windmills causes most cancers. Analysis has discovered no such hyperlink.
Learn Extra: Right here Are All of Trump’s Main Strikes to Dismantle Local weather Motion
Vaccines
Quickly after he was elected to his second time period, Trump indicated that he could be open to altering the childhood vaccination schedule and advised that there could also be a hyperlink between vaccines and autism—a extensively disproven declare.
“The autism charge is at a degree that no one ever believed doable,” Trump stated in an interview for TIME’s 2024 Individual of the Yr. “For those who take a look at issues which might be taking place, there’s one thing inflicting it.”
In that interview, Trump didn’t explicitly state that vaccines trigger autism, however he did say that his Administration would conduct “very severe testing.”
Earlier this month, Trump posted a video on social media that promoted the debunked connection. And through the identical occasion on Monday the place he contradicted medical specialists together with his claims about acetaminophen, the President once more appeared to recommend a hyperlink between vaccines and autism, saying with out offering proof that “there are particular teams of those who don’t take vaccines and don’t take any drugs that don’t have any autism.”
Autism is identified extra typically now than it has been previously, which researchers extensively attribute to modifications in how autism is outlined and identified. The debunked declare that vaccines are tied to autism stems from a 1998 examine by British gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield in The Lancet, which has since been refuted by quite a few research. In 2010, The Lancet retracted the examine; the journal’s editor referred to as the examine’s claims “completely false.” Wakefield misplaced his U.Ok. medical license that very same 12 months, after officers stated that he had acted “dishonestly and irresponsibly” in conducting the analysis that led to its publication.
Trump has not opposed vaccines or promoted misinformation on the subject to the identical extent as some in his celebration, and has at occasions praised their effectiveness—whilst his Division of Well being and Human Companies, underneath the management of outstanding vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has made various latest modifications to the nation’s immunization coverage which have alarmed specialists. In the course of the pandemic, in his first time period, Trump oversaw the speedy growth of COVID-19 vaccines, an achievement he has touted on a number of events. Earlier this month, he stated that some vaccines are “so wonderful” and “simply pure and easy work,” showing to precise reservations about Florida’s plan to remove all vaccine mandates within the state.
Abortion
Trump has made a number of deceptive statements about abortion since launching his first presidential marketing campaign in 2015.
Amongst them, he has claimed on a number of events that fetuses are killed simply earlier than delivery or that infants are killed after they’re born.
Abortions later in being pregnant are uncommon; lower than 1% of abortions in 2021 occurred after 21 weeks of being pregnant, based on the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. Killing a child after delivery, in the meantime, wouldn’t be abortion however infanticide, which is unlawful in all places within the U.S.
Learn Extra: What Trump Has Finished on Reproductive Well being Care In His First 100 Days
Gender-affirming care
Days after Trump was sworn in for a second time, he signed an Govt Order entitled “Defending Kids From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.” The order refers to gender-affirming care as “chemical and surgical mutilation” and claims that such care depends on “junk science.”
Main revered medical organizations, together with the American Medical Affiliation, have endorsed gender-affirming look after transgender sufferers, in addition to different folks looking for it, and opposed efforts to limit entry, saying gender-affirming care is predicated on proof and will be medically mandatory.
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