The capital will not restore compulsory premarital medical checkups but they will be available on a voluntary basis, the Beijing Morning Post reported.

A check-up before marriage was compulsory until 2003 and last year the number who volunteered for a health check including diseases fell to 7 percent in Beijing. Birth defects doubled during the years, according to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health on Sunday.

Lei Haichao, vice-director of the bureau, said the checkup is both a right and basic obligation of people, as some diseases may exist and are communicable to family members and children.

Beijing has offered free marital checkup to people with household registration since 2009.