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A kindergarten teacher at a Catholic school in Vineland, New Jersey, has been placed on administrative leave after she informed school officials she is serving as a gestational surrogate.
Jadira Bonilla, 35, said she was notified Sept. 12 that she may be in violation of her employment contract at St. Mary School, NJ.com reported. She was placed on paid leave following a meeting with officials from the Diocese of Camden, as an investigation was opened.
Bonilla, who has taught at the school for more than three years, said she does not believe she violated any part of her employment agreement. She asked the administration for written documentation on what part of her contract was in question but says she received no response.
“I’m not committing a crime and I’m being punished as if I was,” she said. “What I’m doing is to help a family out.”
“We certainly understand Mrs. Bonilla’s concern,” Principal Steven Hogan said in a statement. “It has been our hope to meet with her to help her fully understand the Catholic Church’s teaching on surrogacy, but that has not happened as of yet. Mrs. Bonilla is a valued teacher and one we hope will one day again teach in our school with the full knowledge of our faith which guides our educational principles.”
Bonilla said she had previously served as a surrogate while working at a different Catholic school without facing disciplinary action. Now 25 weeks into the pregnancy, she said she proceeded with the current surrogacy after signing a contract with the intended parents through an agency.
Gestational surrogacy is permitted under New Jersey law, yet it stands in clear conflict with Catholic moral teaching. In January 2024, Pope Francis called surrogacy a “despicable” practice and called on the international community to enact a universal ban. Bishop Robert Barron stated the same month that surrogacy “does grave injustice” not only to the child, but to women and families alike.
Similar concerns surfaced on the global stage in August 2025, when a UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls also called on countries to ban surrogacy, warning that the practice can exploit vulnerable women and reduce children to commodities.
>> UN advisor on violence against women and girls: Ban surrogacy <<
