Renate Klein (born 5 April 1945) is an Australian academic, writer, publisher, and feminist health activist. Klein was an associate professor in women's studies at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn P ...

until her retirement in 2006, and with Dr Susan Hawthorne, she co-founded the independent feminist publishing company,

Spinifex Press Spinifex Press is an independent feminist book publisher based in Australia. It was established in March 1991 by Renate Klein and Susan Hawthorne. It has over 200 titles in print and publishes both fiction and non-fiction that is innovative and c ...

in 1991. She is herself the author and editor of 14 books, many of which explore reproductive technologies and the medicalisation of women.

Career

Klein is a biologist and social scientist and has taught courses on reproductive medicine and feminist ethics. She was born in Switzerland and was awarded a Master of Science degree in biology from the

University of Zurich The University of Zürich (UZH, german: Universität Zürich) is a public research university located in the city of Zürich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 ...

and later obtained a Bachelor of Arts (honours) degree from the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Fran ...

and a Doctor of Philosophy from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

. She has conducted research into new and old reproductive technologies including international population control, IVF, hormonal and immunological contraceptives, RU486 and

Gardasil Gardasil is an HPV vaccine for use in the prevention of certain strains of human papillomavirus (HPV). Text was copied from this source which is copyright European Medicines Agency. Reproduction is authorized provided the source is acknowledg ...

and operates several blogs on these topics. Described as a radical feminist and supporter of women's right to access abortion, she was strongly critical of the Therapeutic Goods Act (TGA) approval process in relation to the abortion drug RU486 which she regards as dangerous. She has also spoken out strongly against

commercial surrogacy Surrogacy is an arrangement, often supported by a legal agreement, whereby a woman agrees to delivery/labour for another person or people, who will become the child's parent(s) after birth. People may seek a surrogacy arrangement when pregnan ...

and the dangers of the contraceptive

Depo Provera Medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA), also known as depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA) in injectable form and sold under the brand name Depo-Provera among others, is a hormonal medication of the progestin type. It is used as a method of bi ...

and the

vaccine.

Published works

*''A Girl's Best Friend: the meaning of dogs in women's lives'', Jan Fook and Renate Klein (eds.), Spinifex Press, 2001 *''Angels of Power and other reproductive creations'', Susan Hawthorne, Renate Klein (eds.), Spinifex Press, 1991 *''Australia For Women: Travel and Culture'', Renate Klein, Susan Hawthorne (eds.), Spinifex Press, 1994 *''Cat Tales: the meaning of cats in women's lives'', Jan Fook, Susan Hawthorne (eds.), Spinfex Press, 2003 *''Cyberfeminism: Connectivity, Critique and Creativity'', Susan Hawthorne, Renate Klein (eds.), Spinifex Press, 1999, 2003 *''The Exploitation of a Desire: Women's experiences with in vitro fertilisation: an exploratory survey'', Women's Studies Summer Institute, 1989 *''Horse Dreams: the meaning of horses in women's lives'', Jan Fook, Susan Hawthorne, Renate Klein (eds.), Spinifex Press, 2004 *''Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed'', Diane Bell, Renate Klein (eds.), Spinifex Press, 1996 *''RU 486: Misconceptions, Myths and Morals'', Renate Klein, Janice G Raymond, Lynette J Dumble, Spinifex Press, 1991, 2013 *''Surrogacy: A Human Rights Violation'', Renate Klein, Spinifex Press, 2017 *''Not Dead Yet: Feminism, Passion and Women’s Liberation'', Renate Klein, Susan Hawthorne (eds.), 2021

Awards

*Angels of Power: 1991, Australian Feminist Book Fortnight Favourite *RU 486: Australian Human Rights Award for Literature and Other Writing, Certificate of Commendation for Non-fiction, 1992 *George Robertson Award 2015, with Susan Hawthorne, for 30+ years' experience as publishers

Notes and references

External links

Renate Klein on Trove
National Library of Australia.

The Australian Women's Register. {{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Renate 1945 births Australian women writers Australian feminist writers Australian feminists Australian non-fiction writers Australian publishers (people) Living people