Republican Senator Rand Paul has been accused of plagiarising an anti-abortion speech from the Wikipedia page of sci-fi fiilm Gattaca.

He was making the speech at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University in support of Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli.

The rip-off was noticed by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow who compared bits of the Wikipedia entry to Rand Paul's discourse on abortion and eugenics.

Gattaca is a 90s sci-fi movie about a dystopian world where genetic discrimination is widely used.

A few examples demonstrate Maddow's point:

    • Paul said: "In the movie Gattaca, in the not-too-distant future, eugenics is common and DNA plays a primary role in determining your social class."
    • Wikipedia read: "In the not-too-distant future, liberal eugenics is common and DNA plays the primary role in determining social class."

The Kentucky senator continued summing up the film in a few sentences lifted from Wikipedia:

    • "Due to frequent screenings, Vincent faces genetic discrimination and prejudice. The only way to achieve his dream of being an astronaut is he has to become what's called a 'borrowed ladder".
    • Wikipedia read: "Due to frequent screening, Vincent faces genetic discrimination and prejudice. The only way he can achieve his dream of becoming an astronaut is to become a 'borrowed ladder.'"

Talking of Vincent, Paul said:

    • "He assumes the identity of Jerome Morrow, a world-class swimming star with a genetic profile secondary to none, who's been paralysed in a car accident".
    • Wikipedia read: "He assumes the identity of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a former swimming star with a genetic profile 'second to none', who had been injured in a car accident, leaving him paralysed from the waist down."

Commenting on the incident, Maddow said that Paul's speech "was totally ripped off of Wikipedia".

Rand Paul
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul (Reuters)