"There’s a way to talk about autism without stripping autistic people of their humanity. Calling kids burdens who’ll never 'contribute' isn’t policy, it’s ableist."

Kennedy, Hotez says, made a “false statement” in claiming that the scientific community denies that there are any environmental factors at play. “I’ve said to RFK Jr. that there could be an environmental component, but not vaccines, because autism occurs in fetal brain development well before kids ever see vaccines.”

David Geier, the man appointed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead a federal study on the causes of autism, previously treated autistic children with puberty-blocking drug Lupron.