A South New Jersey Catholic school teacher has been placed on leave after disclosing to her principal that she was carrying a couple’s surrogate baby, according to reports.

Jadira Bonilla, 35, was placed on paid leave from St. Mary School in Vineland on Sept. 12 for reportedly violating her employment contract and the school’s “educational principles,” according to NJ.com. 3

“I’m not committing a crime, and I’m being punished as if I was, it’s hurtful,” Bonilla, a kindergarten teacher at the school for over three years, told the outlet.

“What I’m doing is to help a family out,” she said.

The school’s principal, Steven Hogan, called Bonilla, 35, a “valued” teacher, but maintained that the Catholic church’s stance on surrogacy is what “guides our educational principles” in a state

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