The attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, has launched the nation’s first lawsuit against the makers of Tylenol since President Trump’s claims last month that use of the pain reliever during pregnancy is linked to an increased risk of autism.

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks,” Mr. Paxton said in a statement on Tuesday. “These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets.

“By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again,” he said.

The lawsuit, filed against Johnson & Johnson and its consumer health division, Kenvue, claims that the company was deceptive in its marketing of Tylenol, peddling it as an over-the-counter medication to pregnant women despite its purported links to autism and other disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

“Despite being well aware of this fact, Tylenol was marketed as completely safe pain medication for pregnant women, violating Texas’s consumer protection laws,” Mr. Paxton claims.

Kenvue immediately pushed back on the claims, saying that the company was “deeply concerned by the perpetuation of misinformation.

“Acetaminophen is the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy. Without it, women face dangerous choices: suffer through conditions like fever that are potentially harmful to both mom and baby or use riskier alternatives,” Kenvue said in a statement.

“We will defend ourselves against these baseless claims and respond per the legal process. We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support,” the company said.

During a press conference last month with the secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as well as the heads of the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Mr. Trump said simply: “Don’t take it.”

“Instead of attacking those who ask questions, everyone should be grateful for those who are trying to get the answers to this complex situation,” he said.

Scientists and doctors outside the Trump administration have long pushed back against claims that acetaminophen is in any way dangerous for women to take during pregnancy.

A 2024 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association examined potential connections between acetaminophen use during pregnancy and neurological development issues in children. The research found no statistically significant association between prenatal acetaminophen exposure and increased rates of autism or ADHD.

Despite the pushback from the medical community, Mr. Trump continues to double down, even during his current landmark trip through Asia.

“Pregnant Women, DON’T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON’T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON, BREAK UP THE MMR SHOT INTO THREE TOTALLY SEPARATE SHOTS (NOT MIXED!), TAKE CHICKEN P SHOT SEPARATELY, TAKE HEPATITAS (sic) B SHOT AT 12 YEARS OLD, OR OLDER, AND, IMPORTANTLY, TAKE VACCINE IN 5 SEPARATE MEDICAL VISITS!,” he said in a middle-of-the-night post on Truth Social over the weekend.