Word "Abortion" is Avoided During Prosecutor's Opening Statement in Trial for Murder of Dr. Tiller

NY Times: In Abortion Murder Trial, No Motive Mentioned, by Monica Davey:

WICHITA — Jurors in the trial of an abortion opponent accused of murdering Dr. George R. Tiller, one of the nation’s only late-term abortion providers, never heard the word “abortion” on Friday as a prosecutor here laid out her case in an opening statement.

Instead, Nola Foulston, the district attorney, began building a methodical case of times and names and forensic tests that might have been presented at any murder trial — a frantic 911 call, a witness’s swift noting of a getaway car license plate, blood splatters on the defendant’s black sneakers.

Still, though Judge Warren Wilbert of Sedgwick County District Court has said he will not allow the trial to be turned into a debate over abortion, the issue seemed unavoidable — unspoken, but always looming. Those on both sides of the question are watching tensely to see how much it will ultimately play into the jurors’ thoughts. . . .