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.

The defendant, Scott Roeder, of Kansas City, Mo., has pleaded not guilty, but the defense he intends to present to jurors was not revealed on Friday, the first day of testimony in his trial. His public defenders chose not to offer an opening statement until after the prosecution presents its case, which is expected to take a week or more.