Suzanne Shell
Donna Suzanne Shell (née Ostrum; born c. 1957) is an American activist critical of child protective services. Shell grew up in Minnesota. Her first experience with child protective services occurred in 1974, when at age 17 she was punched in the face by her father. That year, she was put in a foster home and gave birth to a baby she gave up for adoption. She became involved in dependency and neglect cases after Elbert County, Colorado, took away one of her children in 1991 for an alleged spanking by his stepfather that she claimed "left no marks." The child was returned after four days with no further action. Since that time she has assisted other families facing court-ordered sanctions. Shell runs a website called Profane Justice and has also published a book by the same title. In 2002, she told a reporter "I don't think they should ever terminate parental rights without proof that a child has been seriously hurt." Legal cases In March 2004, the Colorado Supreme Court cited Shell for contempt of court for ignoring a 2001 order to stop practicing law without a license. In 2006 the citation was upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court, and