When Susan Miller was a sophomore at Temple University, her cross country future was cut short because of an unplanned pregnancy.

Now, six years later, Miller has a daughter, a husband and 18 credits left to finish her degree at Penn State.

"I don't regret the way things have turned out for me at all," said Miller (senior-exercise and sport science). "However, when I was told by a physician that I was going to have to stop running, I felt everything slipping away from me."

The NCAA's open-ended stipulation on pregnancy testing has raised questions about the role of coaches and administrators in ensuring the safety of intercollegiate athletes.

"I got tested on my own accord," Miller said. "No woman -- athlete or not --should be required to be tested."

Although Penn State does not have a rule about testing pregnant female athletes, Susan Delaney Scheetz, assistant director of athletics, said athletes who refuse to answer questions about pregnancy on a physical form are asked to fill out a waiver form to remove liability from the University.

"Some women athletes consider this an invasion of privacy," Delaney Scheetz said, adding that athletes do not understand all of the reasons behind a doctor's need to know about their complete health.

Janine Milgrove (freshman-exercise and sport science) said information about pregnancy should not be required.

"Women athletes should not have to answer any questions regarding their personal lives," Milgrove said. "If an athlete is pregnant, she does not need outside pressures."

But Delaney Scheetz said if an athlete pulls a muscle and a doctor is needed to prescribe medication, the physician would need to know if she is pregnant.

And decisions about an athlete's eligibility would be made by the team physician and the athlete, she added.

"The NCAA does not have a ban that prohibits pregnant women from playing," she said. "The decision would depend on the sport."

When a softball player at California State University continued to play during her pregnancy earlier this year, Coach Gary Torgeson said there should be mandatory pregnancy testing if there is reason to believe a player is pregnant.

"It is the female athlete's right to play, but who decides the health and welfare of the athlete?" Torgeson asked. "I think it is the NCAA's responsiblity to legislate."

If anything happens while a pregnant athlete is performing, coaches are liable, he added.

Delaney Scheetz said she has heard that the NCAA may implement a pregnancy testing rule because individual athlete pregnancy cases have become more publicized.

But John Coyle, Penn State's NCAA faculty representative, said there is no movement in the NCAA to change current pregnancy stipulations.

Coyle said he received an agenda for NCAA January meetings and pregnancy testing is not among listed proposals.

"I attend Big Ten meetings regularly and nothing has been discussed," he said.