A Texas law requiring physicians to gain parental consent before performing an abortion on a minor will take effect Sept. 1, but physicians likely will not have a state-approved consent form to use until 2006, the AP/Austin American-Statesman reports (Shannon, AP/Austin American-Statesman, 8/26). Under the law, which Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed in June, physicians are required to obtain signed consent from a parent or guardian before performing an abortion on a minor. Failure to follow the law would result in a license violation. However, the law allows for judicial bypass in cases of potential abuse or in cases where the minor is deemed mature enough to make the decision on her own. Previously, parents of minors seeking abortion had to be notified 48 hours before the procedure but parental permission was not required (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 6/7). The Texas State Board of Medical Examiners is in charge of implementing the law but has not completed the consent form and might not have final approval on a form until late spring 2006, according to board spokesperson Jill Wiggins. In the meantime, doctors still must obtain parental consent and can decide for themselves how to comply with the law, including using existing consent forms for other reproductive medical procedures. The 83 Planned Parenthood clinics in the state plan to use a modified version of the parental notification consent form for abortion, according to Heather Paffe, political director of the Texas Association of Planned Parenthood Affiliates (AP/Austin American-Statesman, 8/26).