French medicine has many male heroes. One of them is Claude Bernard, remembered as the father of physiology. In this essay, however, I will not dwell too long on his arguments on animal ethics; they are lacking in several ways. Instead, I will turn my attention to Marie-Françoise Bernard, also known as Fanny Martin, Bernard’s estranged wife, as well as his daughters. For them and other women in the 19th century, animal ethics was personally, scientifically and philosophically important. Let us remember the voices of these pioneers.

Les femmes sont nombreuses à s’engager dans les mouvements de défense des animaux. Selon la chercheuse Guerrini, en Grande-Bretagne à l’époque, la moitié des personnes engagées contre la vivisection sont des femmes. À l’époque où la place des femmes n’est pas en politique — elles n’ont pas le droit de vote — ces chiffres sont remarquables