Vice President JD Vance commented on Donald Trump’s advice for pregnant women to ‘fight hard’ against pain and avoid Tylenol due to suspected links to autism.
Vance advised pregnant women to ‘lean on their doctors’ and discuss potential harmful side effects, in an exclusive interview with News Nation.
The vice president’s takeaway was to use the medicine with caution.
‘We know some of these medications have side effects,’ Vance said. ‘We know that even despite those side effects, sometimes they’re necessary.’
Vance shared a personal story about a time when his own children were unwell, and although he thought about giving them Tylenol, a doctor advised against it, saying the side effects weren’t worth the risk.
‘Maybe if you’re talking about a case of very high fever, of course you’re going to have to take something to deal with that.’
He mentioned, ‘The main argument from the CDC and Bobby Kennedy is that these drugs can have side effects, and we need to follow the science wherever it leads us.’
Vice President JD Vance, a father of three, shared his opinion on Trump’s caution for pregnant women regarding Tylenol’s potential connection to autism.
President Donald Trump, speaking alongside U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., made remarks about autism potentially being linked to the use of Tylenol by pregnant women and young children.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, pushed back on Trump’s autism claim
The Vice President emphasized that being more attentive to the side effects of medication is ‘beneficial for everyone.’ However, he also noted that pregnant women should ultimately consult their doctors for advice.
Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who leads the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, pushed back on Trump’s autism claim.
‘The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case,’ he wrote on X.
Vance responded if Cassidy’s argument is to ‘come up with more evidence’ and ‘more science’, then he is ‘absolutely on board.’
Vance’s comments came two days after Dr. Mehmet Oz told TMZ that pregnant women with high temperatures should take the fever-reducing drug.
On Tuesday, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Oz said pregnant women should, ‘Take [Tylenol] when it’s appropriate.’
‘If you have a high fever….the doctor’s almost certainly going to prescribe you something, Tylenol might be one of the things they give,’ the celebrity doctor told TMZ Live hosts Harvey Levin and Charles Latibeaudiere.
He insisted ‘that’s not the problem,’ and clarified that low-grade fevers or minor aches and pains are not a good reason for pregnant women to turn to Tylenol.
Still, Oz admitted that it ‘might be true’ taking acetaminophen for these reasons during pregnancy is actually safe – but that the science is not conclusive.
Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz gestures as he delivers remarks during a press conference to announce a link between autism and Tylenol
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivers remarks during a press conference to announce a link between autism and Tylenol
Oz admitted that it ‘might be true’ taking acetaminophen for these reasons during pregnancy is actually safe – but that the science is not conclusive
Vance and Oz’s statements go directly against Trump’s comments at Monday’s announcement from the White House where he said pregnant women should almost never take Tylenol.
‘With Tylenol, don’t take it. Don’t take it!’ he shouted.
HHS and CMS did not respond to the Daily Mail when reached for comment about Dr. Oz’s comments.
But the White House said that his comments were not out of line with Trump’s pronouncement.
Dr. Oz was at the press conference with the president along with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who also appeared more hesitant than Trump to outright tell pregnant women not to take the pain relieving drug.
When Trump turned over the microphone to Kennedy, he said: ‘I hope I didn’t ruin his day – but that’s the way I feel. I’ve been very strong on this subject for a long time.’
‘This group has worked so hard on it, but I’d like to be a little bit more – a little speedier in the process of a recommendation, because there’s no harm going quickly,’ the president insisted, suggesting that Kennedy and others were more hesitant to make the recommendation.
RFK Jr., who has made it his mission to get to the bottom of surging autism rates in the US, was less vocal about advising women against taking Tylenol when pregnant.
He did not definitively tell pregnant women not to take Tylenol.
Acetaminophen has been the most common pain reliever and fever reducer for pregnant women for decades.
In fact, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, claims it’s the only safe pain reliever for pregnant women.
