According to the country’s cabinet, the number of abortions performed for “non-medical purposes” will be reduced in China, said in new guidelines which was issued on Monday, that it were aimed at improving women’s reproductive health.

China has already taken strict measures in order to prevent sex-selective abortions, and health authorities also warned in 2018 that the use of abortion to end unwanted pregnancies was harmful to women’s bodies and risks causing infertility.

The State Council said the new guidelines would aim to improve women’s overall access to pre-pregnancy health care services.

Think tanks and policy researchers have identified China’s declining birth rate as a major social policy challenges in the coming decades.

After years of trying to limit population growth, Beijing is now promising new policies aimed at encouraging families to have more children.

Declared in June that it would now allow all couples to have three children instead of two. New policies designed to reduce the financial burden of raising children are also being introduced.