This weekend, Donald Trump said something very weird. Whilst this is a pretty regular occurrence for the US President, a ramble mid-way through his Charlie Kirk eulogy caused fresh alarm for disabled people:
Tomorrow we’re going to have one of the biggest announcements, really medically, I think, in the history of our country.
Besides this being a thing he decided to announce during the eulogy for his so-called friend, he continued:
We’re gonna be doing it with Bobby and Oz and all of the professionals. I think you’re going to find it to be amazing. I think we found an answer to autism – how ‘bout that autism.
Truly, the most incredible way to follow up, you’ve made an “amazing” discovery about autism is “how ‘bout that?” isn’t it? It shows just how much he’s announcing these things for applause. And nothing says medical professionals like the guy who got a brain worm and the TV doctor who thinks there’s arsenic in apple juice.
Trump promises to make children with autism “better”
He continued:
Tomorrow, we’re gonna be talking in the oval office of the white house about autism, how it happens, so we won’t let it happen anymore. And how to get at least somewhat better when you have it, so that parents can help their child, their beautiful child. That’s something I’ve been bugging everybody over there, get the answer to that, y’know.
This should truly strike alarm bells for everyone; he’s talking about a neurodivergent condition like it’s an illness and something you can “get better” from. He’s attempting to sound concerned to appeal to parents, but this is eugenics, plain and simple.
He originally teased this announcement at a dinner on Saturday night, where he sounded even more dangerously chaotic:
We have to make the announcement it’s so big, we can’t let people keep doing this, I don’t wanna wait any longer and if it’s wrong – its not gonna be wrong – but if it is wrong its fine that we have to do it, because we’re gonna have an announcement on autism, on Monday.
It was unclear what he couldn’t “let people keep doing” in relation to autism, but most assumed it was simply have Autistic children – which, judging by what has leaked about the announcement, doesn’t seem too far from the mark.
Eugenics and denying pregnant women pain relief in one
The Washington Post reported that the Trump Administration are expected to reveal new plans to explore how:
one medication may be linked to autism and another one can treat it.
The Post spoke with four White House insiders who said that health officials will apparently be raising concerns about pregnant women’s early use of Tylenol (or paracetamol as it’s known in the UK), the most commonly used painkiller globally, and possible links to an increased risk of autism in children. This follows research by Harvard and Mount Sinai that says there is an “association” between the active ingredient in paracetamol, acetaminophen and autism.
But as PBS pointed out, “association” and “links to” are very different to causation.
Speaking to PBS, Dr Christopher Zahn, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ chief of Clinical Practice, said:
The vast majority of the studies done on acetaminophen use in pregnancy are inconclusive and unable to confirm a causal relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and fetal developmental issues.
The administration plans to advise pregnant women against using Tylenol in early pregnancy, unless they have a fever. What’s significant here, though, is that extensive research has found that the drug is the only safe painkiller during pregnancy, and therefore the only one doctors will allow expectant mothers to have. So not only is this a totally unnecessary step, but it’s also one that will leave women in more pain and discomfort during early pregnancy.
The only time Tylenol will be advised is if the pregnant woman has a fever. An untreated fever in pregnancy has been proven to cause problems, including miscarriage – so they don’t want to stop babies being born, but they also don’t want them to be disabled.
Eugenics wrapped up as science
The other part of Trump’s apparent announcement will be a “treatment” for autism, with vitamins. Specifically, the administration will tout vitamin B9, or folinic acid, as a cure for autism. Again, low folates in pregnant women have been linked to autism in kids, as well as some people with autism having lower folates. Trials administering the drug to Autistic children have shown improvements in their abilities to speak and communicate.
As well as the drugs, the National Institute of Health (NIH) is also gearing up to announce that 13 teams have been given grants to research into other causes and treatments of autism. These are apparently separate to the NIH’s broader autism research, which officials have said they don’t want to be rushed to coincide with the announcement.
Robert F Kennedy Jr said in April this year:
By September, we will know what has caused the autism epidemic, and we’ll be able to eliminate those exposures.
The Secretary of Health has made autism a huge focus of his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, which famously proclaimed all food as “poison”. Researchers have raised alarm at Kennedy’s proclamation, because, of course, not only can you not “eliminate” autism, but they also know that conducting research is a lengthy process.
Another thing worth pointing out here is that bullshit tv doctor Dr Oz, who is in charge of the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services, owns a supplements company that sells folinic acid. Just a coincidence though, surely.
Trump’s plans have nothing to do with helping Autistic people
What’s important to look at here is that Trump isn’t proposing in any way to improve the lives of Autistic people, and none of his plans will have any positive outcome for them. Stopping Tylenol in early pregnancy won’t stop Autistic children from being born, but it will give people another way to blame mothers. The “treatment” would most crucially benefit those around Autistic kids, not the kids (or adults) themselves. It’s a way of sanitising Autistic people and making them more palatable and easier to be around for the neurotypicals.
This has never been about helping Autistic people to navigate the world, it’s about squashing us into boxes so we comply, or as RFK put it: “eliminating” us.
Whichever way you look at Trump’s plans, it doesn’t work out well for Autistic people.
This post was originally published on Canary.