A picture of Marcy Hannah Waring standing in front of a grey background. She is a light skinned Latina/Asian woman with shoulder length blonde hair, brown square glasses, and red lipstick. She looks at the camera with a slight frown. She wears a beige blazer over a white shirt.
Content warning: this post discusses disturbing topics such as eugenics and anti-autistic ableism.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made an announcement back in April that Donald Trump gave him a mission on day one of his presidential term — find the cause of the supposed autism “epidemic”. I have previously debunked the “autism epidemic” lie as a combination of expanded diagnostic criteria, increased knowledge, and greater diagnoses among marginalized communities. Many others in the autistic community have made similar fact-checks.
Yet, on September 23rd, Kennedy ignored our evidence-based outcry and claimed to have reached his goal. In this announcement, the Trump administration advised pregnant individuals to avoid acetaminophen products, commonly sold under the brand name Tylenol. The administration referenced studies that found an association between prenatal exposure to acetaminophen and neurodevelopmental disorders like Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and labeled prenatal acetaminophen use as a supposed cause of ASD.
Fact checkers were quick to jump on this claim and label it an inaccurate stretch of science. Zero studies have shown a causational relationship between prenatal acetaminophen use and ASD. Only an association has been suggested. An association is very different from a cause.
The Trump administration took this imaginary causal relationship and ran with it despite its scientific flaws. They suggest that ASD is something to be prevented – and that expecting mothers should play a role in that by refusing acetaminophen. During the September announcement, President Trump directly appealed to mothers:
“You shouldn’t take [Tylenol] during the entire pregnancy…[Only in cases of] extremely high fever that you feel you can’t tough it out, if you can’t do it…that’s what you’re gonna have to do. You’ll take a Tylenol…Fight like hell not to take it” (President Trump, 2025)
This is a clear, though inaccurate, guide for mothers to avoid having an autistic child. This creates a real risk that mothers to autistic children could be socially stigmatized and blamed for their child’s autism. A PBS documentary titled “Refrigerator Mothers” platformed mothers of autistic children in the 1960s to tell their stories. Their message was clear: maternal blame leads to familial separation.
A serious question needs to be asked – Why is this administration trying to tell individuals how to avoid birthing an autistic child?
The answer is in eugenics. Eugenics has three principles.
1) Humans with undesirable qualities should be prevented from being born into society.
2) There should be attempts to cure undesirables if they manage to enter society.
3) These undesirables should avoid reproduction due to the risk of creating more of them in society.
We heard these principles clearly throughout the administration’s announcement:
“[We are discovering] how patients and parents can prevent and reverse this alarming trend” (Kennedy, 2025)
But I do not want a cure. I do not think my mom should have prevented me. And I certainly do not want a crucial part of my identity to be reversed. What I want is for U.S. politicians to stop bemoaning my existence and to actually fund supports for my community.
People might say I am overlooking the stressful aspects of autism or ignoring the parents of children with profound autism who do want a cure. I am not overlooking this, I just have a different perspective.
Yes, I hit myself during meltdowns. I get exhausted from my strong emotions. I go nonverbal at the worst times. And, yes, my sensory issues are so intense that sometimes I even forbid my partner from holding my hand.
But I get treatment for these issues. My concern is not with voluntary treatment that helps us manage the difficult symptoms of ASD. My concern is with the harmful ideas of a “cure” and “prevention.”
Stop conflating ASD treatments with ASD cures and preventions. You cannot honestly claim to love an autistic person while simultaneously wishing they weren’t born the way they were. You cannot claim that changing someone’s identity is in their best interest unless you are a proponent of conversion therapy.
I ask you to consider that autism itself has the power to bring people joy. I experience happiness to the extreme. My partner loves my vocal stims. I can be entertained by the simplest things. I show people love in the most unique ways.
Autistic people deserve acceptance and support. Not a cure, prevention, or reversal.
Marcy Hannah Waring (She/Her) is an autistic self-advocate of color. She speaks on behalf of herself in this piece, though she hopes her voice can be a comfort to other autistic people in this difficult time. Outside of writing, she is a government affairs intern at The Arc of Massachusetts and a Research Assistant at The Lurie Institute for Disability Policy.