RFK Jr.’s autism claims aren’t about helping anyone—they’re about deciding who gets to exist in America.

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Chapters:

0:00 Cold Open + Promise 0:45 RFKjr’s Agenda vs the Facts1:52 Name the Agenda: Eugenics2:31 Mask of Compassion for Parents... A False Flag4:08 A Kind Word for Tylenol4:53 Foreword to Our Future: Born to Raise Hell5:32 Build a Better World for Our Kids7:45 Here’s My Freaking Topic Sentence… and I DO Have One8:41 What’s Next?

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This piece combines political commentary with personal autistic experience. Recorded live November 2024 as part of my ongoing “Trigger Warnings” series analyzing current events through a neurodivergent lens.

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Content Note: Political commentary, personal autistic experience... and the occasional wise crack.

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Sources & Further Reading:

Not comprehensive or complete, just my starting points.

1. RFK Jr.’s Tylenol-Autism Claims Lack Scientific Support

Supporting Sources (Claims are not substantiated):

* Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2025): “The research so far—including one of the largest studies yet on the topic—suggests that Tylenol use during pregnancy does not cause autism.”https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/the-evidence-on-tylenol-and-autism

* JAMA Study (2024): The largest sibling-controlled study to date found that while population-based models showed small associations between prenatal acetaminophen use and autism (HR 1.05), when controlling for familial factors using sibling comparisons, acetaminophen showed no association with autism risk (HR 0.98). This suggests confounding factors, not causation.https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2817406

* Autism Science Foundation (2025): “Any association between acetaminophen and autism is based on limited, conflicting, and inconsistent science and is premature given the current science. Autism doesn’t have a single cause. It is the result of a complex mix of genetics and environment.”https://autismsciencefoundation.org/press_releases/statement-from-autism-science-foundation-regarding-wall-street-journal-report-rfk-jr-hhs-to-link-autism-to-tylenol-use-in-pregnancy-and-folate-deficiencies/

* PBS/PolitiFact Fact-Check (2025): Medical experts state Kennedy’s portrayal of autism and causation claims are skewed. “A 2023 study written by CDC officials and university researchers found that one-quarter of people on the autism spectrum have severe limitations. But this is on the high end of studies.”https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/fact-checking-robert-f-kennedy-jr-s-statements-on-autism

Balancing Source (Some association found, but not definitive):

* Mount Sinai Study (2025): Applied rigorous Navigation Guide methodology to 46 studies with 100,000+ participants and found evidence suggesting prenatal acetaminophen exposure “may be linked to increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.” However, the study emphasizes this “underscores the need for both caution and further study” - not definitive causation.https://www.mountsinai.org/about/newsroom/2025/mount-sinai-study-supports-evidence-that-prenatal-acetaminophen-use-may-be-linked-to-increased-risk-of-autism-and-adhd

2. Acetaminophen’s Neurological Effects on Pain Processing

Supporting Sources (Acetaminophen affects emotional/social pain):

* University of California Study (2010): Published in Psychological Science, found acetaminophen reduced both behavioral and neural responses to social rejection, demonstrating “substantial overlap between social and physical pain” in brain regions like the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and anterior insula.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20548058/

* UCLA Study (2015): Found acetaminophen “seems to diminish our emotional highs and lows” and reduces empathy for both positive and negative experiences, suggesting it affects emotional processing through brain regions involved in emotional awareness.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6455058/https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/12/04/567762087/tylenol-may-help-ease-the-pain-of-hurt-feelings

* NIH/PMC Review (2021): Comprehensive systematic review found “acetaminophen has been shown to reduce affective responses to both negative and positive emotional images and reduced the neural responses associated with experiences of acute pain,” confirming effects on overlapping neural circuits for physical, emotional, and social pain.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8594782/

Balancing Source (Mechanism still not fully understood):

* Tufts School of Medicine (2022): While acknowledging acetaminophen’s effectiveness, notes “how it works remains a mystery” even after 150 years of study. The mechanism by which it affects pain - whether through COX enzymes in the brain or other pathways - is “still speculative.”https://medicine.tufts.edu/news-events/news/how-does-acetaminophen-work

3. Eugenics, Ableism, and the Trump Administration’s Approach to Disability

Supporting Sources (Eugenics rhetoric and policies toward disabled people):

* Scientific American (2025): “By going after Social Security, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Education, Donald Trump is signaling his belief that having ‘good genes’ means not having a disability... this is nothing other than ableism, eugenics doctrine at work in the highest level of government.”https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/slashing-programs-that-help-people-with-disabilities-is-a-nod-to-eugenics/

* The Conversation (2025): “Part of a eugenic logic is the ongoing belief that erasing disability and people with disabilities is a desirable and commonsense objective... RFK Jr.’s eugenic rhetoric resonates strongly in contemporary discourse. It aligns politically with neoliberalism, fostering a version of ableism that views citizens as ‘able-bodied entrepreneurial entities.’”https://theconversation.com/uninformed-comments-on-autism-are-resonant-of-dangerous-ideas-about-eugenics-256762

* STAT News (2025): “The Trump administration’s approach to autism is tangled up with ableism, eugenics, and pronatalism... Using this framing dehumanizes autistic people in ways that echo the eugenic policies of the early 20th century.”https://www.statnews.com/2025/10/03/autism-tylenol-rfk-jr-trump-ableism-eugenics-pronatalism/

* Autistic Self Advocacy Network (2025): “Secretary Kennedy sees us as experimental subjects whose health and safety from abusive medical treatment is secondary to vindicating his own views on vaccines and autism. He is determined to try to find a ‘cure’ for autism despite the discredited methods he mentions being repeatedly disproven.”https://autisticadvocacy.org/2025/05/crisis-of-confidence-robert-f-kennedy-jr-continues-to-use-his-position-at-hhs-to-promote-lies-about-autism-public-health/

Balancing Source (Autism research organizations distance themselves from eugenics):

* Autism Speaks (2024): Explicitly states “We do not support eugenics. The focus of our genetics research is to help more autistic people access personalized care that will empower them to lead their best lives... There is no cure for autism, and we do not support research searching for a cure.” (Note: Autism Speaks has historically been criticized by autistic self-advocates but has shifted its public stance)https://www.autismspeaks.org/research-and-eugenics

4. Autism Has Complex Genetic and Environmental Causes (Not Vaccines)

Supporting Sources (Vaccines do not cause autism; autism is multifactorial):

* Meta-Analysis (2014): Published analysis of 5 cohort studies (1,256,407 children) and 5 case-control studies (9,920 children) found “no relationship between vaccination and autism” or with MMR, thimerosal, or mercury. “Findings of this meta-analysis suggest that vaccinations are not associated with the development of autism or autism spectrum disorder.”https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24814559/

* Stanford Medicine (2011): Twin study found genes account for 38% of autism risk, with environmental factors explaining 62% - nearly opposite of previous estimates. Importantly, “extensive research did not support” theories linking childhood vaccines to autism.https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2011/07/non-genetic-factors-play-surprisingly-large-role-in-determining-autism-says-study-by-group.html

* Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (2025): “Over time, scientists have found some of the causes, including genetic links, certain viral infections, and parental age... Study after study have shown” vaccine hypotheses to be “unsupported by the science.”https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center/vaccine-safety/vaccines-and-other-conditions/autism

* CDC (2024): “Studies have shown that there is no link between receiving vaccines and developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD). No links have been found between any vaccine ingredients and ASD.”https://www.cdc.gov/vaccine-safety/about/autism.html

Balancing Source (Environmental factors do play a role, though not vaccines):

* Johns Hopkins/SPARK (2025): “Most scientists agree that both our genes and the environment contribute to autism.” Environmental factors with research support include: prenatal exposure to air pollution and pesticides, maternal illness during pregnancy, birth complications, and older parental age - not vaccines.https://sparkforautism.org/discover_article/environment-autism/

5. Neurodiversity Framework: Autism as Difference, Not Disease

Supporting Sources (Autism as natural neurological variation):

* Autistic Self Advocacy Network: “We believe that brain-based disabilities like autism, intellectual disability, and dyslexia are a normal part of the differences between people. Autism should be accepted and supported, not taken away from us.”https://publications.ici.umn.edu/impact/33-1/the-autistic-self-advocacy-network-normalizing-neurodiversity

* Frontiers in Psychology (2021): “Fundamentally, neurodiversity emphasizes the collective strength inherent in cognitive diversity... neurodiversity activism, which includes some non-speaking activists, specifically includes and advocates for those who are unable to do so themselves.”https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8075160/https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635690/full

* Harvard Health (2021): “Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.”https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-neurodiversity-202111232645

Balancing Source (Medical model perspective on intervention needs):

* Pediatrics/American Academy of Pediatrics (2017): While acknowledging the historical context of eugenics, medical literature continues to frame autism within clinical diagnostic frameworks requiring intervention. However, contemporary medical approaches increasingly incorporate neurodiversity perspectives in practice.https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/140/2/e20171419/38692/Eugenics-and-the-Origins-of-Autism

6. Rise in Autism Diagnoses Due to Better Awareness, Not Epidemic

Supporting Sources (Diagnostic improvement, not true epidemic):

* CDC Report/Autism Society Response (2025): “The rise in prevalence—from 1 in 36 in 2020 to 1 in 31 in 2022—may reflect several factors including greater awareness, improved screening and diagnostics... This rise in prevalence does not signal an ‘epidemic’ as narratives are claiming — it reflects diagnostic progress.”https://autismsociety.org/autism-society-of-america-responds-to-new-cdc-report-on-updated-autism-prevalence-rates/

* BBC Future (2025): “Autism is better known and diagnosed than ever before, leading to misconceptions that cases are skyrocketing... ‘Autistic individuals have always existed,’ Rosa states. ‘However, we have never truly grasped how many there are.’”https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20250509-why-autism-diagnoses-are-on-the-rise

* Johns Hopkins (2025): Explains the increase is due to: DSM-5 consolidating multiple diagnoses into ASD in 2013, growing public awareness, improved screening protocols, reduced stigma, and better recognition in previously underserved communities.https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2025/is-there-an-autism-epidemic

Balancing Source (Some scientists call for investigating environmental triggers):

* CNN/Dr. Zahorodny (2025): Co-author of CDC report stated at RFK Jr.’s news conference: “I would urge everyone to consider the likelihood that autism... is a real thing that we don’t understand, and it must be triggered or caused by environmental or risk factors.” However, most autism researchers dispute this characterization.https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/health/rfk-autism-epidemic