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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the makers of acetaminophen, claiming the companies withheld safety concerns that the drug presented to children's brain development.

This legal action follows a month after Donald Trump promoted an unsubstantiated connection between consuming Tylenol - also known as paracetamol - while pregnant and autism in children.

The attorney general is filing suit against Johnson & Johnson, which previously sold the medication, the exclusive pain medication recommended for women during pregnancy, and Kenvue, which now manufacturers it.

In a statement, he said they "deceived the public by making money from discomfort and marketing drugs without regard for the risks."

The manufacturer asserts there is lacking scientific proof linking Tylenol to autism.

"These corporations misled for generations, knowingly endangering millions to increase profits," the attorney general, a Republican, declared.

Kenvue stated officially that it was "seriously troubled by the dissemination of inaccurate information on the safety of paracetamol and the possible consequences that could have on the welfare of women and children in America."

On its official site, the company also stated it had "consistently assessed the applicable studies and there is insufficient valid information that demonstrates a verified association between consuming acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder."

Groups acting on behalf of medical professionals and healthcare providers concur.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said paracetamol - the primary component in acetaminophen - is one of the few options for women during pregnancy to manage pain and fever, which can create significant medical dangers if left untreated.

"In more than two decades of studies on the utilization of acetaminophen in pregnancy, no reliable research has definitively established that the use of acetaminophen in any period of pregnancy leads to brain development issues in young ones," the organization stated.

This legal action references recent announcements from the former administration in asserting the drug is potentially dangerous.

In recent weeks, Trump generated worry from medical authorities when he told expectant mothers to "struggle intensely" not to consume Tylenol when sick.

Federal regulators then issued a notice that doctors should contemplate reducing the usage of Tylenol, while also declaring that "a causal relationship" between the medication and autism in children has not been proven.

Health Secretary RFK Jr, who supervises the Food and Drug Administration, had pledged in spring to initiate "extensive scientific investigation" that would establish the source of autism in a limited time.

But authorities warned that identifying a unique factor of autism - considered by experts to be the consequence of a complicated interplay of inherited and environmental factors - would be difficult.

Autism is a type of permanent neurological difference and condition that impacts how persons encounter and interact with the environment, and is recognized using doctors' observations.

In his court filing, the attorney general - aligned with the former president who is campaigning for federal office - asserts Kenvue and J&J "deliberately disregarded and attempted to silence the evidence" around paracetamol and autism spectrum disorder.

The lawsuit aims to force the companies "eliminate any marketing or advertising" that asserts acetaminophen is safe for expectant mothers.

This legal action parallels the grievances of a assembly of guardians of young ones with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder who filed suit against the manufacturers of acetaminophen in 2022.

The court dismissed the legal action, stating research from the parents' expert witnesses was not conclusive.