RFK Jr. Confirms He Knows Nothing About Female Anatomy in Embarrassing Rant

The HHS Secretary also said he's working to “make the proof” to connect autism, Tylenol, and pregnancy.

By Danielle Han  |  October 10, 2025 | 3:41pm
Photo: Getty Images Politics
RFK Jr. Confirms He Knows Nothing About Female Anatomy in Embarrassing Rant

It’s no secret that RFK Jr. loves to not know things, but his latest seemingly accidental admission reveals that not only does he not know anything about science, medicine, statistics, research, or common sense, he also doesn’t know anything about pregnancy or female anatomy.

During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, the Secretary of Health and Human Services ranted about a TikTok he saw in response to his ill-informed and long-disproven claim that Tylenol causes autism. “Somebody showed me a TikTok video of a pregnant woman at 8 months pregnant, an associate professor at Columbia University,” he said. “She was saying ‘F Trump’ and gobbling Tylenol with her baby in her placenta.” Given that it’s physically impossible for a “baby” to be inside a “placenta,” we assume he meant uterus.

“Any mother who is taking the stuff during pregnancy just to get back at Donald Trump is doing something that is pathological,” he continued, accusing the woman of suffering from Trump derangement syndrome. Then, he essentially confessed that while there’s virtually no evidence to support the claim that taking Tylenol during pregnancy causes autism, he has officials working to “make the proof.” I forgot that’s how science works!

“RFK Jr. is telling on himself,” Darya Minovi, Senior Analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told Jezebel in a statement. “Stating that he will ‘make the proof’—that they’ve already determined the study results before doing the research—shows just how far astray our nation’s public health leadership has gone from scientific integrity. The effects of acetaminophen use in pregnancy should be studied, but the results should follow rigorous research, not the other way around.”

For decades, acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—has been considered safe to use during pregnancy. In a statement shared with Jezebel, the American College of OB-GYNs reaffirmed that “in more than two decades of research…not a single reputable study has successfully concluded that the use of acetaminophen in any trimester of pregnancy causes neurodevelopmental disorders in children.” In 2024, a peer-reviewed study involving a sample of 2 million children found no association between taking Tylenol during pregnancy and autism.

This didn’t stop Trump from recently telling pregnant people to “fight like hell” to avoid taking the medication, or the FDA from sending a letter that told doctors to “minimize” the use of acetaminophen for pregnant people experiencing a fever. According to KFF, about 4% of Americans actually think the government’s claims are “definitely true.” (Still, by our own estimates, 4% is over 13 million people.)

At the meeting—the eighth cabinet meeting of Trump’s second term, in which all the secretaries pretty much just circle-jerk the president—RFK also asserted “children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism, most likely because they are given Tylenol,” citing two unnamed studies. (He was likely referring to a 2013 and 2015 report, both of which have been widely criticized, and called “appalling” by the head of the Coalition of Autism Scientists.) Trump agreed, saying, “There’s a tremendous amount of proof or evidence, I would say as a non-doctor.” Calling himself a “non-doctor” might be the most truthful thing he’s ever said. Then again, this was the guy who recently posted an AI video about magical cure-all beds, a popular QAnon conspiracy theory.

“It’s actually worrisome that [RFK would] pick circumcision as a factor to highlight,” Peter Hotez, a vaccine scientist, told the Houston Chronicle on Friday. “He could be gathering the nation’s top autism scientists to have a very productive discussion. Instead, we’re wasting taxpayer money and he’s detracting from the real scientific work that needs to happen.”

But going back to the topic of female anatomy, here’s your reminder that RFK Jr. has amplified the bogus, far-right study that twists research to claim the abortion pill isn’t safe. Alongside FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, the two have used this non-peer-reviewed study—conducted by a far-right “think tank”—to launch a needless review of the medication. I can’t wait for his inevitable admission that the study is wrong, but that he has people trying to “make the proof.”

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