A Catholic school teacher in New Jersey says she has been suspended from her position for serving as a surrogate.
Jadira Bonilla, 35, teaches kindergarten at St. Mary Catholic School in Vineland, according to ABC affiliate WABC-TV and The New York Times.
Bonilla first became inspired to become a surrogate at 18 after learning her cousin faced medical challenges that made having a child impossible, according to NJ.com. She was further motivated in 2018 after reading a BuzzFeed article on infertility, the Times reported.
Shortly after, she contacted a surrogacy agency and, four years later, delivered her first baby as a surrogate.
Last year, the same family requested her help again, and Bonilla agreed. However, on September 12, she was suspended from her job, claiming the decision was linked to her surrogacy work.
“I didn’t think it was a big deal, being as though I was a surrogate before at a different Catholic school,” Bonilla said. She is currently 25 weeks pregnant, according to NJ.com.
Bonilla alleged that Steven Hogan, the school’s principal, informed her in a meeting that she could not work at the school while acting as a surrogate. Upon revealing her plans, Bonilla said Hogan asked, “You’re renting your uterus?” according to NJ.com and The New York Times.
She noted that neither her contract nor the employee handbook explicitly prohibits teachers from participating in surrogacy or in vitro fertilization.
However, The New York Times reported that the local Diocese of Camden’s employee handbook allows for discipline or termination for conduct “contrary to the doctrines and teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Last year, Pope Francis called for a global ban on surrogacy, labeling it a “deplorable” practice that commercializes pregnancy. The pontiff stated that surrogacy exploits mothers’ material needs and constitutes “a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child.”
Bonilla has been placed on paid administrative leave, according to a statement from Hogan obtained via email by the Times. Hogan described her as a “valued teacher” and expressed hope that she would return “with the full understanding and acknowledgment of our faith which guides our educational principles.”
In a separate email shared with the Times, Hogan said her leave stemmed from a “possible violation” of her contract. Bonilla said officials from the Diocese of Camden also raised the same concern during a meeting, according to NJ.com.
Bonilla claimed she repeatedly requested a written explanation detailing the specific contract violation, but her requests were not fulfilled.
In a statement obtained by NJ.com and WABC-TV, Hogan said, “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, “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.”
