LOCAL

Framingham Democratic Committee chair apologizes for special ed students statement.

Jesse Collings
MetroWest Daily News

FRAMINGHAM Framingham Democratic Committee Chairman Michael Hugo has issued an apology for comments he made during a City Council meeting earlier this month in which he referenced undetected birth defects and the cost of supporting special needs children.

Hugo, who said he was speaking on behalf of the committee during the Feb. 7 council meeting, addressed a proposed proclamation that would state that the City Council was committed to promoting equitable reproductive rights to residents. The proposal, which passed unanimously, was made in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's 5-4 ruling last June to overturn Roe v. Wade, which paved the way for individual states to curtail or even ban abortion rights.

Michael Hugo, chairman of the Framingham Democratic committee, apologized for comments made earlier this month about the costs to educate special education students.

Hugo brought up the issue of so-called “crisis pregnancy centers,” a term used to describe facilities that represent themselves as legitimate reproductive health care clinics that provide care for pregnant people but which actually aim to dissuade them from accessing abortion care and even contraceptive options.

What he said

Hugo, who is director of policy and government relations for the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards, said that because these centers can potentially misdiagnose pregnant women, it becomes a local issue. This is because the city will have to pay a lot of money in special education services to educate children with significant special needs, he said.

“Our fear is that if an unqualified stenographer misdiagnoses a heart defect, an organ defect, spina bifida or encephalopathic defect, that becomes a very local issue, because our school budget would have to absorb the cost of the child in our special education budget,” Hugo said during the Feb. 7 council meeting.

Others condemn remarks

Shortly afterward, members of the Framingham Democratic Committee and others quickly condemned the remarks. 

“I’m a lifetime member of the Democratic Committee, and the person who wanted to represent us went off the rails in a different direction that had never been brought before the committee," said Patrick Dunne, also a former School Committee and Town Meeting member. “We are not talking about eliminating special ed students, we are talking about getting out good information to the people in Framingham, and he is casting a net a bit too wide for me.” 

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“I am absolutely horrified about what I just heard our chairman say and relate the entire issue to special needs costs to our school," added Cheryl Tully-Stoll, also a Framingham Democratic Committee member and a former city councilor. "One has nothing to do with the other."

City Councilor Adam Steiner later wrote on his Facebook page that it was "unacceptable" and "disturbing" that Hugo made such a comparison. 

“Unfortunately, there has been a long history of arguments in our town/city pitting the needs of particular students against the financial constraints of the Framingham budget," Steiner wrote. "In the context of reproductive freedom and abortion rights, making this connection was totally unacceptable and disturbing. I was especially disappointed and saddened as someone with direct family connections to young people with disabilities."

'Most sincere and humble apology'

Hugo issued his formal apology on Friday, writing that while he spoke on behalf of the Framingham Democratic Committee as its chair, his comments were not overseen by the committee.

“I am writing to offer my most sincere and humble apology to members of the Framingham Democratic Committee, but more especially my fellow members of Framingham's disability family community, for comments that I made at the last City Council meeting which were offensive and hurtful,” Hugo wrote. “Nothing in my comments was meant to be derogatory or hurtful and although the Framingham Democratic Committee authorized me to express support for the proclamation, the committee did not see or review my full remarks that were sent out at 12:46 a.m. the night before the City Council vote. Unfortunately, my remarks were poorly drafted, hastily put together and as a result, they did not accurately reflect the meaning of what I was trying to say.

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“The bottom line is that I owe you an apology without any excuses or equivocation, because my innermost feelings tell me that it is the right thing to do, especially when I know in my heart of hearts that I have upset people I truly care for and about."

Hugo told The Daily News on Friday that he would not be stepping down from his position as chair of the committee.

The Democratic Committee Executive Committee met the night before and issued a statement on Friday regarding Hugo's comments:

"The chair’s remarks were harmful, misleading, and wrong," the statement reads. "They did not accurately reflect the vote of the full Framingham Democratic Committee and we fully disavow and denounce them. We are deeply sorry to all for these remarks and have put in place processes to avoid future occurrences."