--- title: "Government Launching Database of Everyday People With Autism" description: "The government is launching a registry tracking Americans with autism as part of RFK Jr.'s probe into the disorder's roots." date: "2025-04-25" modified: "2025-04-25" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai.md" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/government-launching-autism-database" categories: - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "autism" - "hhs" - "nih" - "rfk jr" --- # Government Launching Database of Everyday People With Autism ![The government is launching a registry tracking Americans with autism as part of RFK Jr.'s probe into the disorder's roots.]() *WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 22: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at a news conference at the Health and Human Services Department on April 22, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kennedy spoke about the intent of the FDA "to phase out the use of petroleum-based synthetic dyes in the nation's food supply." (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) \Image: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images\* The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is launching a registry tracking Americans with autism as part of a [series of new studies]() by America's anti-vax health czar, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, to discover the "cause" of the condition. As [*CBS News* reports,]() NIH director and [COVID truther]() Jay Bhattacharya told councillors that the studies, and the so-called "disease" registry that will be integrated into them, will glean data from a wide range of sources including pharmacies, Veterans Affairs, private insurance companies, and — perhaps most invasively — data from smart watches and fitness trackers. As of now, it's unclear how this data is being pulled, if people will be able to opt out, or if anyone will be informed when their data is used for these studies. We've reached out to the NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ask about all of the above. Launched under the guise of streamlining healthcare information, this announcement comes just a week after Kennedy declared in an alarming and inaccurate speech that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will, under his leadership, embark on a quest to discover the "cause" of autism, which he has referred to as both a "[preventable disease]()" and an "epidemic." The [allegedly brainwormed]() political scion added that children who live with autism will "[never pay taxes]()" or "hold a job" — inaccurate statements that raised the hackles of autism advocates who [called that rhetoric eugenicist](). As if all that weren't ominous enough, the newly-announced studies will also involve up to 20 groups of outside researchers, which suggests they too will have access to all that sensitive health data — including that of minors. In our questions to NIH and HHS, we also asked about how that data will be stored and safeguarded. Initially, RFK Jr. vowed to have discovered the cause of autism by September — but Bhattacharya was forced to walk back that outrageous timeline after acknowledging that even the fastest government grants process will drag his boss' bunk research out until at least year's end. "We're going to get hopefully grants out the door by the end of the summer, and people will get to work," the [NIH director told reporters]() earlier this week. "We'll have a major conference, with updates, within the next year." Bhattacharya also tempered Kennedy's claims that there will be a silver bullet "cause" of autism discovered by his still-unannounced outside "experts" — though he appeared to trip over his words a bit while doing so. "It's hard to guarantee when science will make an advance," he said during the same press conference. "It depends on, you know... nature has its say." Though Kennedy has had to do his own [rhetorical walkback]() in the face of a massive and deadly measles outbreak, there's a very good chance that the "environmental toxins" referenced in his recent speech are nothing more than vaccines — which, despite being long demonstrated not to cause autism, remain a [pet target for the HHS secretary](). Is the man in charge of America's health compiling an autism database to use people's health records to prove the [long-debunked]() theory that [vaccines cause autism]()? Only time will tell — but there's plenty of reason to believe he will. **More on RFK:** [*RFK Jr., Who Hates Adderall, Says Heroin Was Great for Treating His ADHD*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() ## More - [Government Hires Crackpot to “Study” Nonexistent Link Between Vaccines and Autism]() - [RFK Jr Wants to Waste $5 Billion in the Worst Way Imaginable]() - [Man Who Believes Poppers Cause AIDS Is Planning to Gut America’s HIV Prevention Office]() - [The FDA, Which is Run By A Homophobic Conspiracy Theorist, Has Raided a Poppers Company]() - [CDC Report on Vaccines and Autism Caught Citing Hallucinated Study That Does Not Exist]() - [“So I Cut Him Off”: Bill Nye Says He Keeps Begging RFK Jr. to Stop Texting Him]() - [RFK Jr Is Suddenly in Real Trouble]() - [Anti-Vaxxers Aghast as RFK Jr. Admits That Vaccines Are Pretty Fantastic]()