BATON ROUGE — Sen. Bill Cassidy has called for the Department of Health and Human Services to release data backing up President Donald Trump's claims that the use of acetaminophen-based painkillers like Tylenol during pregnancy can lead to autism. 

Cassidy, a medical doctor, applauded Trump's "desire to address this issue and to support HHS," but said that "preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case."

"The concern is that women will be left with no options to manage pain in pregnancy. We must be compassionate to this problem," Cassidy added in a social media post. 

I understand and applaud President Trump’s desire to address this issue and to support HHS. HHS should release the new data that it has to support this claim. The preponderance of evidence shows that this is not the case. The concern is that women will be left with no options to…

— U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (@SenBillCassidy) September 22, 2025

On Monday, Trump and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced that they were making a recommendation to physicians to stop recommending Tylenol, whose active ingredient is acetaminophen, to pregnant women. Trump did not provide new evidence backing up his claims. 

He added that the Food and Drug Administration would begin notifying doctors that the use of acetaminophen “can be associated” with an increased risk of autism, as well as repeating claims that the increased rate of childhood autism can be linked to vaccines, claims that themselves have been opposed by doctors. 

Trump also said that parents should not give their children Tylenol after they're born. 

The FDA issued a notice to physicians on Monday, saying "while an association between acetaminophen and autism has been described in many studies, a causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature."

"In the spirit of patient safety and prudent medicine, clinicians should consider minimizing the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers. This consideration should also be balanced with the fact that acetaminophen is the safest over-the-counter alternative in pregnancy among all analgesics and antipyretics; aspirin and ibuprofen have well-documented adverse impacts on the fetus," the FDA's notice read. 

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists disavowed Trump's claims, saying that the drug is "a safe, trusted option for pain relief during pregnancy." 

"Despite recent unfounded claims, there’s no clear evidence linking prudent use to issues with fetal development. ACOG's guidance remains the same. When pain relief is needed during pregnancy, acetaminophen should be used in moderation and after consulting your doctor," the ACOG said.

When confronted with the ACOG's statement, Trump said that the group is funded by "lots of different groups."

"You know what? Maybe they're right," Trump said. "But I don't think they are because I don't think the facts bear it out at all. They're fighting for something, in my opinion, they shouldn't be fighting for."

U.S. Representative Julia Letlow (R-Louisiana) spoke to WBRZ Tuesday morning in Baton Rouge. The former college administrator says she needs to do more research, but trusts the President and Secretary.

"It just came out like yesterday, so I look forward to reading the guidelines that they set out and how that's going to impact us moving forward and what we tell women in the future," Letlow said.

However, various medical organizations considered this announcement alarming.

"Various organizations that are responsible for the care of pregnant women and of children believe that this presentation and the recommendations are inappropriate based on the available information that we have," Louisiana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics President Joseph Bocchini said.

Bocchini discussed how, for years, it has been important for obstetricians that any medication given to pregnant women is administered only when necessary, for the duration required, and in the smallest dose possible.

"A question that people should raise is what's the rationale for making this decision right now. Where is the new data? Where is the evidence that we have gone from a compound that has been used safely for so many years to suddenly indicate that it is responsible for the development of autism?", Bocchini asked.

The FDA says it will suggest to clinicians that they minimize the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy for routine low-grade fevers.

WBRZ also got in contact with the Coalition of Autism Scientists, which says it was formed this year following the HHS department's decision to "dismiss decades of autism research."

 It strongly opposed the announcement, stating that these studies fail to address the fact that fevers during pregnancy are known to increase the risk for autism, and that's why mothers take acetaminophen in the first place.

The Coalition says it and the College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists agree that since the use of acetaminophen during pregnancy has not increased over the past two decades, while the rate of autism diagnosis has increased, that acetaminophen is not the cause of the increased diagnosis of autism.