China appears poised to scrap the limit on the number of children couples can have, with a state-run newspaper citing a draft civil code that would end decades of controversial family planning policies.
The wide-ranging code would get rid of a policy that has been enforced through fines but was also notorious for cases of forced abortions and sterilization in the world's most populous country.The Procuratorate Daily said the code omits any reference to "family planning" - the current policy which limits couples to having no more than two children.
The draft code would go to a vote at the rubber-stamp legislature, the National People's Congress, in 2020.
The Communist Party began enforcing a one-child policy in 1979 to slow population growth. The limit was raised to two children in 2016 as the nation scrambled to rejuvenate its greying population of some 1.4 billion.
Concerns are mounting that an ageing and shrinking workforce could slow down its economy, while gender imbalances could lead to social problems.
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