HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam abolished its long-standing two-child limit 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 Wednesday.

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.

"Having children should match one's financial situation, and allow time for personal well-being," says 18-year-old Hanoi resident Nguyen Thi Kim Chi, after Vietnam's communist government scrapped its long-standing two-child policy in an effort to reverse the decline in the birth rate.