HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam abolished its long-standing two-child limit on Tuesday to try and reverse declining birth rates and ease the pressures of an aging population. The National Assembly passed amendments scrapping rules that limit families to having one or two children, state media Vietnam News Agency reported on Wednesday.

A declining birth rate led lawmakers to approve a new policy on Tuesday that lifts the limit on the number of children many families may have.

Vietnam has eliminated its policy of limiting families to having no more than two children, as the country seeks to boost a declining fertility rate that threatens its long-term economic prospects. The new regulation,