"Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that early infant circumcision doubles the rate of autism"

Question

One of the newer claims by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suggested that infant circumcision doubled the incidence of autism and that it is "highly likely" caused by pain or medication with the circumcision. Fact-checkers like Al Jazeera went over the studies that he used to make his claim and found that those studies do not support his claim. The studies are small, observational, and reveal no causality between circumcision and autism. Also, there is no evidence that drugs like acetaminophen are to be blamed. Experts note that there is no scientific agreement between circumcision and autism, and the claim misleadingly suggests correlation as causation. In conclusion, the claim is false and baseless. Source

Answer 1

The claim that circumcision causes increased rates of autism, one originally made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is both inherently false and a classic confusion between correlation and causation. In an article written by Sara Moniuszko for CBS news, Moniuzsko states that "The authors admitted that national and state averages may show correlation, not causation, and said their study may have mistakes, bias and confounding". In his original statement, RFK Jr. mentioned two studies without actually citing them, so the actual origins of his claim are unknown, although it is speculated to be from a 2012 study and a 2015 study that show similar findings. In addition to this claim, Moniuzsko also shares that RFK claimed that it was a  2025 study that "directly validates my point that the observed autism correlation in circumcised boys is best explained by acetaminophen exposure, not circumcision itself."" In either case, the links are not solid. Just because someone is circumised at a young age and receives acetaminophen as pain management, there is no guarantee that there is an increased likelihood of autism. Despite this overwhelm of negating information, it is also important to look at the political bias and leaning of the sources involved. CBS news has a historically left leaning political affiliation (All Sides Rating). JFK Jr. is a republican and tends to have more conservative views closely aligned with those of current U.S. President, Donald Trump. 

A second source debunking this claim Allison Parshall of Scientific American. Parshall, in reference to the 2013 and 2015 studies, states that "neither study shows a causal link between circumcision—or the pain relief medications that are often prescribed along with the procedure—and higher rates of autism". RFK Jr.'s claim has no factual backing. Despite his insistence that Tylenol and circumcision cause autism, there is simply not a causational relationship present. Again, it is important to check the potential bias of the sites. Scientific American as a source has, like CBS News, a left leaning bias (All Sides). The same potential issues with the differences in political viewpoints between the source and RFK Jr. are present. 

Answer 2

This claim is false. Aljazeera notes that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed on October 9, 2025, "There's two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism, and it's highly likely because they're given Tylenol." However, the studies RFK Jr. listed are linked to correlation, not causation. The 2013 study, authored by UMass-Lowell epidemiologists, was a "hypothesis generating" exercise, meaning there was no intent to correlate acetaminophen and developing autism. Circumcision was also not the focus of the study. The 2015 Denmark study focused on whether being circumcised meant a boy was more likely to be diagnosed with autism before the age of 10. Both the studies note their small sample sizes and limitations, as well as not including data on acetaminophen being given to the patients of the studies or circumcision being a cause of autism. 

Scientificamerican.com also speaks on the inaccuracy of RFK Jr.'s claim, referencing Helen Tager-Flusberg, an autism researcher and professor at Boston University who leads the Coalition of Autism Scientists, a group that advocates for high-quality autism research. Tager-Flusberg calls the methods used in the studies "appalling." More information about the 2015 Denmark study was provided. The study involved 3,347 predominantly Jewish and Muslim boys who had been circumcised due to religious reasons, and found that this group of boys showed a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with autism than those who haven't been circumcised. Psychologist David S. Mandell, a member of the Coalition of Autism Scientists, tells Scientific American, "that study is riddled with flaws, which others have written about." In the years since these studies were published, autism researchers have continued to criticize them. The researchers and Scientific American point out the constraints on observational studies like these, as these studies cannot explain what causes autism. 

Overall, correlation does not equal causation, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr's claim is false/incorrect.

Answer 3

The claim secretary Kennedy makes that "early circumcision doubles the rate of autism" is false. In an article by the Cato Institute, it is stated that "In Israel—where ritual circumcision is nearly universal—the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is about 1 in 88, according to the Israeli Ministry of Health. In the United States, where circumcision is far less common, the rate is 1 in 36, according to the CDC," which helps disprove the claim the Secretary made (Singer, 2025). Along with this, a CBS News article points out that both of the studies RFK Jr. was likely citing have some significant issues. The author of the 2013 study even admitted that "national and state averages may show correlation, not causation, and said their study may have mistakes, bias and confounding," which means this study doesn't necessarily prove anything.  In the 2015 study the "risk of autism was higher among circumcised boys under age 5, but after age 5, the association disappeared," neither of these studies truly prove anything (Moniuszko, 2025).  However, in his speech, Secretary Kennedy never said specifically which studies he was referring to, so we don't even know for sure if these are said studies, which makes his claim even more unreliable.
 When it comes to the Cato Institute, it is a libertarian public policy research organization. On the bias scale, it is usually rated in the middle of the spectrum. Therefore, it is possible that it has a slight bias, but it is not extremely likely. With CBS News, they do tend to lean more left in their reporting. Since this can be perceived as a political issue, there is a chance that there is a slight bias present, but it is not major.
 

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-circumcision-linked-autism-experts/

https://www.cato.org/blog/circumcision-tylenol-autism-rfk-jr-misses-cut

Answer 4

It is true that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made this claim, as cited by multiple news outlets, including CBS and PBS, however his claim is false. Kennedy claimed that, “‘There's two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It's highly likely because they are given Tylenol,’" (CBS). While he did not specifically reference either of these studies, CBS continued by explaining that experts believe he was likely referring to “a 2013 study of eight countries and a 2015 study from Denmark.” The authors of the first of these studies admitted that the study may have shown correlation rather than causation due to biases and mistakes and the second only, “found that the risk of autism was higher among circumcised boys under age 5, but after age 5, the association disappeared,” (CBS), which should have continued after the age of 5 if the claim was accurate. Other studies do not support a link between circumcision and autism, according to PBS.

PBS explains that autism rates have been rising in past decades, however a likely explanation for this is that awareness of autism and the amount of parents that sought diagnosis increased, especially as “schools began offering educational services they hoped could help their kids.” While it is difficult to tell if there are additional factors affecting this increase, once again, studies do not support causation between circumcision and autism.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-circumcision-linked-autism-experts/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/reupping-unproven-claims-about-tylenol-kennedy-claims-a-link-between-circumcision-and-autism 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/heres-what-we-know-about-the-causes-of-autism

Answer 5

This claim is false, and I also cannot find a direct quote from RFK where he says this. According to the CDC autism is a neurological disorder that is most often that not inherited genetically. I cannot find any studies online about autism that mention circumcision, there is no way to prove this statement as true. There is not evidence that RFK said this, nor evidence that this subject has even been studied. The article provided is very unreliable.

https://www.cdc.gov/autism/about/index.html#:~:text=There%20is%20not%20just%20one,%2C%20biologic%2C%20and%20genetic%20factors.

Answer 6

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-circumcision-linked-autism-experts/

This is false. I checked by trying to check any relationship between circumcision and autism and found this link from CBS news, a reliable news source with expert speakers. They claim that a study in Denmark proved correlational relation between circumcisions and autism, but there is no direct causal link. The claim is that it comes from the Tylenol used after circumcisions, but most hospitals do not use Tylenol and instead use a local anaesthetic. Furthermore, the cultures that usually do circumcisions are also more likely to test boys for autism, which not only removes a base for any causal relationship.

Answer 7

This claim, accurately reported as being made by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is false. CBS News refutes both claims Kennedy has made about circumcision and acetaminophen being a direct cause of autism. Kennedy states, "There's two studies that show children who are circumcised early have double the rate of autism. It's highly likely because they are given Tylenol." In the article, Sara Moniuszko, unpacks the studies Kennedy references in this claim and describes why they are unsupportive in his argument. In reference to a 2013 study, Moniuszko explains, “The authors admitted that national and state averages may show correlation, not causation, and said their study may have mistakes, bias and confounding.” This reveals that while circumcised infants may also have autism, their autism is not a direct result of their circumcision. Evidence that proves correlation does not equate to causation, therefore proving Kennedy’s claim to be false. Additionally, Scientific American explains that both studies Kennedy states to be the basis of his claim were highly critiqued by autism researchers for their methodology and lack of concrete evidence. As the research studies were both incredibly flimsy and lacked consideration of other influential factors, they do not support Kennedy’s claim directly and therefore prove it to be false.

Sources:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-circumcision-linked-autism-experts/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rfk-jr-cites-truly-appalling-studies-to-tie-autism-to-circumcision-and/