The Discourse Ethics Alternative to Rust v. Sullivan

Legal theorists in the United States should pay more attention to Jiirgen Habermas. His theory of discourse ethics provides us with an enriched understanding of the term "normative validity." Discourse ethics "is concerned ...with the grounding of normativity . . .; its central focus is the . . . specification of appropriate validation procedures."' Once participants in political discourse agree on validation procedures, they are then in a position to achieve a fully rational consensus about normatively right laws that are in everyone's best interests.