Massachusetts Democrat asked to resign after abortion comments angered parents

A local Democratic representative in Massachusetts has faced calls to resign after he complained about the cost of special education for disabled children who didn’t get an abortion.

Michael Hugo, chairman of the Framingham Democratic Committee, made the announcement during a City Council meeting discussing a proclamation for access to abortion and emergency pregnancy centers in the city. He said crisis pregnancy centers could misdiagnose a defect in a baby in the womb, causing it to be born and putting a strain on the school budget. He issued a public apology after 10 days of backlash from members of his own party and parents of children with special needs.

“I took Michael’s words as a personal attack on my own children,” said Cheryl Goldstein, chairman of the Framingham Commission on Disability. “That my special needs kids weren’t worth the cost of the school system.”

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In his public letter of apology, Hugo called his comments “offensive and hurtful”.

“I am writing to offer my most sincere and humble apologies to the members of the Framingham Democratic Committee, but especially my colleagues in the Framingham Family Disability Society, for the comments I made at the last city council meeting that were offensive and hurtful.” He wrote.

He said committee members did not “see or consider” his remarks, despite the fact that they were sent out the night before the meeting.

“We fear that if an unqualified sonographer misdiagnoses a heart defect, an organ defect, a spina bifida or an encephalopathic defect, it will become a very local problem, because our school budget will have to cover the cost of a child in special education, supplying many, many special services to children. who were born with a defect,” Hugo said at a meeting on Feb. 7.

Sarah Greene, a disability rights advocate in Framingham, told Fox News she doesn’t accept his apology.

“I feel like it was generic and lackluster. I feel like after a statement like that, you can’t just pretend it didn’t happen or take it back because it’s detrimental to the human community,” she said. “The disability community is the only minority group you can become a part of at any time.”

Crisis pregnancy centers provide ultrasound for pregnant women almost free of charge.

Crisis pregnancy centers provide ultrasound for pregnant women almost free of charge. (iStock)

According to his LinkedIn, Hugo is also director of policy and government relations for the Massachusetts Association of Health Councils.

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John Fetherston, a special needs advocate and registered Republican, said he didn’t believe it when he heard the comments.

“As a parent of an autistic child, I read these comments and ask, ‘What?'” he said. “My peer thinks I should have had an abortion because it was supposed to be a burden on the school budget?”

Kristan Hawkins, a mother of two with cystic fibrosis and president of Students for Life, told Fox News that she was deeply offended by Hugo’s comments.

“This is ordinary discrimination,” she said. “I think that people who say that the sick are too expensive for our society, it is better to quickly find the source of youth, because one day it will be themselves, it will be their family members.”

“It’s eugenics, it’s eugenics in America 2023, it’s an argument that we’ve unfortunately heard before and throughout American history, just spewed out using fancy jargon or support for abortion,” Hawkins added.

Laura Green says her best friend with Down syndrome inspired her to become an advocate for people with disabilities.

Laura Green says her best friend with Down syndrome inspired her to become an advocate for people with disabilities. (Laura Green)

In his speech, Hugo said he “speaks for the Framingham Democratic Committee”, adding that their mission is “to work for the common good by promoting racial, ethnic, social and economic equality for the people of Framingham”.

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“It’s amazing to see such a heartless statement, especially coming from America in 2023, where we should be a progressive, inclusive society that celebrates diversity, to come out and say, ‘Well, yeah, some people shouldn’t be born because they’re going to die. cost us too much money,” Hawkins said.

The speaker, who came shortly after Hugo at the meeting, denounced him and said he had “gone off the rails”.

“I’m a life member of the Democratic Committee, and the person who wanted to represent us took a different path that was never presented to the Democratic Committee,” said Pat Dunn, a former member of the Framingham Schools Committee. To Framingham Spring. “We’re not talking about eliminating special education students and stuff like that. We’re talking about bringing useful information to the people in Framingham.

In a letter sent to city council members hours before the meeting and obtained by Fox News, Hugo provided a preliminary overview of his remarks to the source, asking if the state would cover the medical costs of a fetus that had good medical reason to be terminated.”

He asked if the state would “cover the cost of special education for a child with Down syndrome” and “pay for the emergency medical expenses of a child with an atrial septal defect?”

“How much does the Framingham Public Schools Department pay for unpaid school transportation for children with special needs, specialized education and durable goods?” he asked.

Hugo also stated that ultrasound specialists at crisis pregnancy centers are likely to misdiagnose defects, “while declaring that this is a beautiful baby living inside the mother, and giving her an ultrasound picture that no one can understand without preparation, several diapers and a pair of “jumpsuits” for her. New baby.”

Hugo said he and others are working to prevent Framingham’s crisis pregnancy centers from opening.

Michael Hugo, a local Democratic official in Framingham, Massachusetts, questioned the cost of children with Down's syndrome in his city who didn't get an abortion.

Michael Hugo, a local Democratic official in Framingham, Massachusetts, questioned the cost of children with Down’s syndrome in his city who didn’t get an abortion. (BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Hawkins disputed Hugo’s complaints about emergency pregnancy centers.

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“Maternity care centers offer such great free services that even the abortion community has taken notice,” she said. “Preventing young mothers from getting free services is a sign that the abortion mindset has poisoned too many in our culture.”

Goldstein added that because of her leadership position on the disability commission, she has received many calls and messages from families with children with special needs in the community.

“Frankly, people are very upset,” she said. “They want action.”

"I took Michael

“I took Michael’s words as a personal attack on my own children,” said Cheryl Goldstein, chairman of the Framingham Commission on Disability. (Cheryl Goldstein)

The Framingham Democratic Committee echoed Hugo’s apology in a statement released last week, saying his remarks did not reflect the entire committee, adding “we completely disavow and condemn them.”

“If they disavow and don’t support these comments, how are you going to keep him in charge of your organization?” asked Fetherston, who has a child with autism. “He has an influential position within the party, and even if he thinks so, much less talks about it at a public meeting, then he should not occupy a leadership position.”

“I think he should retire immediately,” Fetherston added.

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Hawkins said that while she believes Hugo should be removed, his scathing comments “hopefully awakened a lot of people in their support for abortion.”

Neither Hugo nor the Framingham Democratic Committee responded to a Fox News request for comment.

To learn more about the backlash against Hugo, click here.

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