Could 2011 be the year of equality? To end 2010, President Barack Obama signed into law a bill that repealed the U.S. military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Today, Brazil’s national association of doctors just approved in vitro fertilization treatments for same sex couples in addition to permitting posthumous donation:

Brazil’s national association of doctors has approved new rules for in vitro fertilization that let same-sex couples and single people qualify for the process. A statement from the organization says that the change “was a demand of modern society.”

The rules published Thursday replace guidelines that were in place for nearly two decades. In vitro fertilization involves mixing egg and sperm in a laboratory, then transferring the embryo into the womb. The new standards also allow fertilization using eggs or sperm from the deceased with prior approval, and impose limits on how many embryos can be implanted.