The National Autistic Society has condemned Robert F Kennedy Jr’s claims that circumcision can cause autism.
The US health secretary shared the misinformation during a government cabinet meeting, spuriously arguing that circumcised people have “double the rate of autism,” which is not proven. There is one (2015) Danish cohort study that found an association, but that study did not prove causation.
It comes after the notoriously conspiratorial Trump ally claimed that painkillers such as Tylenol can cause autism if given to young children, which is also not supported by the current scientific consensus.
The National Autistic Society, a UK-based non-profit, condemned RFK Jr’s “dangerous” claims, which they said was not based on “any form of rigorous, robust research.”
Mel Merritt, head of Policy and campaigns at NAS, said the continuously false claims that RFK Jr and the Trump administration have pushed on autism could “put lives at risk.”
“This incessant focus on pseudo-scientific causes of autism means autistic people are forced to listen to the suggestion that they need to be cured, as though it’s not okay to be autistic and someone should be ‘blamed’,” Merritt continued. “This is wrong and dangerous.
The charity said it had recently heard from individuals saying the misinformation spread by RFK Jr has “scared” them into thinking they should be in hiding. The parents of autistic children, meanwhile, felt that “people were judging them.”
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