The wide ranging legislation abolishes the status of illegitimacy from Bermuda's law books, provides methods of determining a child's parentage and reforms custody and access laws while requiring both parents to support their children.

"The underlying philosophy is that the stigma of illegitimacy is undeserved, discriminatory, punitive and wrong," reads the hefty bill's explanatory notes.

And because the gender neutral bill gives equal rights and responsibilities to both parents regarding care and custody of their children, fathers will be restored as a "legally recognised social entity" in the lives of their children instead of being relegated to the role of banker, said ruling party Senator Calvin Smith who introduced the bill.

"The law became complicit in creating single parenthood with the mother bearing the brunt of this responsibility," he noted.

Senators were particularly impressed with abolishing illegitimacy, a legal status conferred on those born out of wedlock.

Since most children born to unmarried children have been black, a "heavy load" was carried by that segment of the population, said Senator Calvin Smith who introduced the bill.

"To think that you could actually go to the courts to get yourself legitimised," concurred Independent Senator Walywn Hughes. "It doesn't say much for our social conscience at that time."

"It boggles the mind how any legislation could find a child unlawful," said ruling party Senator Victoria Pearman, a lawyer.

Opposition Senator Neville Darrell, describing the moment as a "watershed day", said : "For many who have been labelled with that (illegitimacy) it's emancipation day... This step is very progressive."

And he appealed to recalcitrant fathers to step up the plate, become involved in their children's lives and live up to their responsibilities.

"This bill recognises that when fathers and mothers divorce each other, they don't divorce their children," he said.

Senator Darrell also called for a public awareness campaign so "that that marvellous piece of legislation becomes a living piece of legislation."

And he urged that society move to settling custody agreements outside the adversarial court system, a position shared by other Senators, including the ruling party's Victoria Pearman.

Sen Pearman added she was "excited as a woman and a (legal) practitioner."

"My advice to men has always been `we are going to lose (a custody case). The question is how to alleviate the loss ?'" she said.

"We seem to have gone from a position where men had all the rights to another extreme where it is assumed that a mother must always be right. Women are not always right..."

And she disagreed with Opposition Senator Leonard Santucci's characterisation of the legislation as a Christmas gift to the Island's children.

"`Gift' suggests something you are not entitled to," she said.