A Catholic school teacher in South Jersey has been placed on administrative leave after disclosing she is carrying a baby for a couple as their gestational surrogate.

Jadira Bonilla, 35, said she was accused by school administrators on Sept. 12 of violating her employment contract at St. Mary School in Vineland. Since then, she has been on paid leave.

“I’m not committing a crime and I’m being punished as if I was, it’s hurtful,” Bonilla said. “What I’m doing is to help a family out.”

Steven Hogan, the school’s principal, said in a statement that Bonilla was a “valued” teacher, but the Catholic church’s stance on surrogacy “guides our educational principles.”

This isn’t the first time a New Jersey Catholic school teacher has been removed from the classroom following a pregnancy disclosu

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