New โฃJersey Teacher on Leave from Catholic School After Revealing Surrogacy Pregnancy
Vineland, NJ – A teacher โatโ St. Mary School in Vineland, Newโ Jersey, has been placed on leave after informing school officials she is pregnant via surrogacy, a practice the Catholicโ Church opposes.The teacher, identified asโ Bonilla, was reportedly told she could not continue working at the school while โขcarrying a โขchild forโค another couple, despite the issueโ not being addressed in her โcontract or employee handbook.
Bonilla, who had previously worked as a surrogate at another Catholic school, described the principal’sโข reaction to her announcement last yearโฃ as “judgmental.” According to Bonilla, Principal Steven hogan verballyโค informed her of the school’s โposition but did not provide any written documentation when she โrequested it. She later proceeded with a โขsurrogacy โคarrangement with a couple.
On September 12th, over a week after disclosing her pregnancy, Bonilla was called into a meeting withโข Diocese ofโ Camden officials and โinformed she was “possibly” violating her contract and would โคbe placed on leaveโฃ pending an “examination.”
“Iโ was upsetโฆI truly love my job. โI love working with my students. I miss being in the classroom,” Bonilla โtold CBS Philadelphia.
Principal Hogan stated, “We certainly understand Mrs. Bonilla’s concern. It has โฃbeen โour โhope to meet with her to help her fullyโข understandโ the Catholic Church’s teaching on surrogacy, but thatโ has not happened as of yet.” He further emphasized that Bonilla is a “valued teacher” and expressed hope she would “one day again โteach in our school with the full knowledgeโ of our faith, which guides ourโข educational principles.”
The situation highlights the complex intersection of โreligious beliefs and employment law. In 2023, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled โthat religious โentities are โขnot required to abide by anti-discrimination lawsโ when adhering to theirโฃ faith, a decision that allowed Kenilworth Catholic school to legally fire a woman for โขbeing unmarried and pregnant after a decade-long legal โขbattle.
Bonilla, inspired toโ becomeโ a surrogate after learning of her โฃcousin’s inabilityโฃ to carry a โขchild, has reportedly received significant support from parents at the school. She is โขcurrently โข25 weeks pregnant, carrying a childโ for a couple she previously โฃassisted in having a baby.
St. Mary School did not respond to aโค requestโ for comment โfrom The post at the timeโ of โคpublication.