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2w ago

HHS Secretary Kennedy Faces Backlash Over Autism Research and Comments

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s initiative to identify environmental causes of autism and his rhetoric about individuals with autism have drawn sharp criticism from experts and advocacy groups.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., conducts a news conference to discuss the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network survey, at the Hubert Humphrey Building on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The survey states there has been a rise in Autism diagnoses in children.
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U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. during a swearing in ceremony of Mehmet Oz as administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday. (Will Oliver/Pool/CNP/ZUMA Press/TNS)
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Overview

  • Kennedy announced a new HHS research effort to identify environmental toxins linked to autism, with results expected by September 2025.
  • He described autism as a preventable epidemic and attributed rising prevalence to environmental factors, rejecting genetic explanations supported by mainstream science.
  • Advocacy groups and experts criticized Kennedy's comments portraying individuals with severe autism as non-contributors, calling them harmful and dehumanizing.
  • The Autism Society of America and other organizations emphasized the need for better support and inclusion over unproven toxin-focused research.
  • Kennedy’s initiative is controversial, with critics highlighting his history of promoting debunked vaccine-autism theories and appointing discredited researchers to lead studies.