New Jersey Teacher Gets Suspended From Catholic School Job For Acting As A Surrogate: ‘This World Is So Messed Up’

In New Jersey, a Catholic schoolteacher is finding herself at the center of controversy after she says she was sidelined from her job simply for helping another family grow. Jadira Bonilla, 35, taught kindergarten at St. Mary School in Vineland, but since September 12, she’s been kept away from her students after revealing she was carrying a child as a surrogate.

Bonilla told NJ.com she was shocked by how quickly the situation escalated. After being pulled into the office, she was told she might be in violation of her employment contract and would be placed on administrative leave, per Daily Mail. “I’m not committing a crime, and I’m being punished as if I was, it’s hurtful,” she explained. “What I’m doing is to help a family out.”

For the beloved teacher, who’s 25 weeks pregnant, the timing couldn’t be worse. “It’s fall, and I would have had so many fun activities to do with my kids,” she told CBS News, adding that she already misses her students. Parents and locals in New Jersey have been buzzing about whether the school’s decision makes sense, or if it’s a case of outdated values colliding with modern family choices.

New Jersey Teacher Suspended For Becoming A Surrogate

What makes this story even more eyebrow-raising is Bonilla’s history. She says she’s been a surrogate before, about four years ago while teaching at a different Catholic school in Philadelphia, and faced no backlash. This time, however, the Diocese of Camden has taken a harder line. Bonilla claimed she even gave her principal, Steven Hogan, a heads-up last year about her surrogacy plans, only to be met with what she called a “judgmental response.”

In a statement, Hogan called Bonilla a “valued teacher,” but also hinted at the underlying issue: “We certainly understand Mrs. Bonilla’s concern. 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.” He added that the school hopes she may one day return to teaching with “the full knowledge of our faith which guides our educational principles.”

For her part, Bonilla insists her employment contract says nothing about surrogacy, and she’s repeatedly asked the school to show her where she’s allegedly in violation. So far, she says, they’ve produced no documentation.

Is The Suspension Fair Or Foul?

“This world is so messed up,” one person stated. “When you work for a religious, private organization you don’t get to ignore their standards and judgments,” another wrote. “This woman HAD to know that wouldn’t fly at a Catholic school,” a third person stated.

Now, the New Jersey teacher is stuck in limbo, unable to work, waiting on answers, and wondering if her decision to carry a baby for another family will cost her the career she loves. The case highlights a bigger cultural clash playing out across America: when personal choices about family, faith, and morality collide with institutional rules.