Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley met in South Carolina for the fourth Democratic presidential debate, trading barbs on a number of issues including gun control, foreign policy and the intersection of race and policing.
But, as in past debates, abortion and reproductive rights went largely unmentioned.
The lack of attention to abortion and reproductive issues is particularly jarring given recent events, including Congress launching an investigation into Planned Parenthood and voting to cut off the group's funding because of undercover videos showing officials of the group’s discussing providing fetal tissue for research.
Online, many people noted the absence of questions about reproductive rights, and the fact that NBC moderators Lester Holt and Andrea Mitchell had no shortage of opportunities to bring the issues into the debate spotlight.
As we enter hour 2, still no mention of abortion or reproductive freedom. Folks, you can't win any of this without women. #DemsDebate— Chloe Angyal (@ChloeAngyal) January 18, 2016
In November, three people were killed during a shootout at a Colorado Springs Planned Parenthood center. The suspect stood in court and declared he was guilty, describing himself as "a warrior for the babies."
Earlier this month, the president vetoed legislation that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act and stripped all federal funds from Planned Parenthood, saying that eliminating the organization's funding would "disproportionately impact low-income individuals."
And just three days ago, Planned Parenthood launched a federal lawsuit against the anti-abortion rights group the Center for Medical Progress, saying that "anti abortion extremists" had taken part in a 3-year "complex criminal enterprise.
The lack of questions about gender or reproductive health were also glaring to some, given the fact that there were several questions about former President Bill Clinton, his potential role in his wife's administration, and whether decades-old scandals were "fair game."
Oh sweet god please tell me we're not getting a second question about this candidate's husband and still none on abortion in any debate.— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) January 18, 2016
Asking the candidates about the Hyde Amendment, a law that prevents taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortions, would also likely expose a rift among the Democrats.
While Clinton has called for abolishing the Hyde Amendment, saying it makes it "harder for low-income women to exercise their full rights," we haven't heard the same from other Democratic candidates.
So far, there has been almost no mention of abortion rights in any debate. One of few turns was courtesy of Clinton, who during an October debate brought up the issue unprompted.
Asked by CNN's Dana Bash about critics of paid family leave, she noted that Republicans "don't mind having big government to interfere with a woman's right to choose and take down Planned Parenthood."
"They're fine with big government when it comes to that. I'm sick of that," she said.