Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pushed back hard against what he calls a “media distortion” of his remarks linking early circumcision and autism, insisting that his comments were rooted in medical research about acetaminophen use, not religion or ritual.
The controversy erupted after comments Kennedy made during a White House Cabinet meeting Thursday were seized upon by political opponents and several media outlets that accused him of promoting antisemitic tropes.
In that meeting, Kennedy noted that “two studies show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism,” adding that the probable reason “is because they’re given Tylenol.”
His remarks came during a discussion led by President Trump, who reiterated his view that pregnant women and newborns should not be given acetaminophen, the common painkiller found in Tylenol, amid growing concerns over its potential developmental effects.
However, headlines from major outlets including USA Today framed Kennedy’s remarks as a claim that “circumcision causes autism.”
That framing, Kennedy argued, was both false and deliberately misleading.
“As usual, the mainstream media attacks me for something I didn’t say in order to distract from the truth of what I did say,” he wrote on X.
While the underlying medical issue remains under investigation, the political fallout was swift.
Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler accused Kennedy of “promoting antisemitism under the guise of pseudo-science,” suggesting that referencing circumcision in any autism discussion was “deeply offensive” to Jewish communities.
But that accusation drew immediate backlash from within those same communities.
The Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce, in an open letter released Friday, sharply rebuked Nadler and the media for what it called “the weaponization of antisemitism for political gain.”
“I personally spoke with Secretary Kennedy following the recent uproar,” said Duvi Honig, founder and CEO of the organization.
“He reassured me directly — confirming what I already knew — that the reports suggesting he linked circumcision to autism are completely false and taken out of context. At no time whatsoever did he intend to attack or even question this sacred Jewish practice.”
The letter went further, commending Kennedy’s longstanding friendship with the Jewish community and accusing his critics of exploiting the issue to score political points.
“We call out the misinterpretation of his statements and the weaponization of antisemitism for political gain,” Honig said. “False claims only divide. Secretary Kennedy has always shown friendship, respect, and understanding toward the Jewish community.”
The organization emphasized that Kennedy’s remarks were entirely medical in nature, focused on the use of acetaminophen during or after infant procedures, and were not a commentary on religious circumcision itself.
“There is no threat whatsoever from Secretary Kennedy toward circumcision or any Jewish tradition,” the statement read.
In response, Kennedy expressed gratitude for the support and reiterated his commitment to “following the science” on all public health matters.
Kennedy cited a 2015 Danish study that explored autism spectrum disorder rates among circumcised boys under 10 years old.
While the researchers in that study noted they could not directly assess whether acetaminophen was involved, they acknowledged their findings “suggest that circumcision may somehow trigger the development of ASD in a small fraction of young boys.”
The authors emphasized that these theories — including the potential effects of pain, stress, or certain medications in early life — “remain incompletely conceptualized.”
The broader scientific question that Kennedy raised — whether acetaminophen exposure in infancy could be associated with higher autism rates — has been the subject of several studies over the past decade.
Several researchers have found potential correlations, though not definitive proof, between Tylenol use during pregnancy or early childhood and increased risk of neurological and developmental disorders.
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