Texas Lawyer Basic Ken Paxton is taking over the most important menace to his constituents: Tylenol.
On Tuesday, the Republican filed a lawsuit towards Johnson & Johnson and its spinoff Kenvue, accusing the businesses of failing to warn shoppers concerning the dangers of taking acetaminophen throughout being pregnant and its supposed hyperlinks to autism.
Texas Lawyer Basic Ken Paxton
The case marks the primary time a state has sued over alleged hyperlinks between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental problems—and it arrives simply weeks after President Donald Trump and Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. publicly warned towards utilizing acetaminophen whereas pregnant.
That steerage sparked sharp pushback from medical consultants, who word that analysis on the difficulty stays inconclusive and no consensus hyperlinks acetaminophen use throughout being pregnant to neurodevelopmental problems like autism.
Paxton’s go well with leans on Trump’s current steerage, which he claims “confirmed what Defendants knew for years: acetaminophen use during pregnancy likely causes conditions like [autism spectrum disorder] and ADHD.”
He additionally argues that Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue violated the Texas Misleading Commerce Practices–Client Safety Act by allegedly withholding proof of these dangers.
The state’s lawsuit has requested a jury trial and, partially, requires the businesses to “destroy any marketing or advertising materials in their possession that represent, directly or indirectly, that Tylenol is safe for pregnant women and children.”
It additionally calls for that the businesses pay civil penalties of $10,000 per violation.
“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Paxton mentioned in an announcement Tuesday. “By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”
A cartoon by Clay Bennett.
Each firms rejected the claims outright.
“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims and will respond per the legal process,” Kenvue spokesperson Melissa Witt mentioned in an announcement Tuesday. “We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen.”
Equally, Johnson & Johnson spokesperson Clare Boyle mentioned that the corporate “divested its consumer health business years ago” and that “all rights and liabilities associated with the sale of its over-the-counter products, including Tylenol, are owned by Kenvue.”
The lawsuit additionally revives a long-running allegation that Johnson & Johnson “fraudulently transferred its Tylenol-related liabilities” to Kenvue to protect itself from monetary publicity. Johnson & Johnson finalized the spinoff in 2023, transferring well-known family manufacturers like Tylenol, Band-Assist, and Johnson’s Child Shampoo to the brand new firm.
For years, particular person plaintiffs have pursued related claims in court docket, arguing that taking Tylenol throughout being pregnant led to autism or ADHD diagnoses of their youngsters. These instances had been consolidated into federal multidistrict litigation, however a New York decide dismissed them earlier this yr, citing a scarcity of dependable scientific proof. The plaintiffs appealed and have a listening to set for Nov. 17.
Submitting his personal go well with matches a well-known sample for Paxton, who has repeatedly used the courts to sign alignment with Trump’s agenda. He has challenged the outcomes of the 2020 election, focused immigrant rights teams, and sued Democratic lawmakers throughout Texas’s redistricting battles.
President Donald Trump speaks throughout a press convention with Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Although not all the time profitable, Paxton’s instances have cemented him as a right-wing fighter in Texas politics.
Paxton, who’s operating to unseat Texas Sen. John Cornyn in subsequent yr’s GOP major, filed the Tylenol go well with in a conservative county close to the Louisiana border—a venue that might favor his claims.
Whereas the go well with argues that Johnson & Johnson misled shoppers concerning the dangers of acetaminophen and that Kenvue’s creation was a part of a company maneuver to dodge legal responsibility, it provides little proof.
In the meantime, Trump has continued to amplify his claims.
“Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY,” he posted on Fact Social Sunday.
Paxton’s lawsuit faces lengthy odds. Texas courts are robust on sophisticated product legal responsibility instances, and his argument doesn’t relaxation on proving a scientific hyperlink however reasonably on proving that the businesses misled shoppers.
Even so, it additional aligns him with Trump in a state the place that loyalty could make all of the distinction.
