Pacific Justice Institute Takes Women’s Privacy Fight to U.S. Supreme Court in Olympus Spa Case

PJI and Alliance Defending Freedom ask nation's highest court to protect Christian Korean spa from Washington's transgender access mandate

WASHINGTON - Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) asked the U.S. Supreme Court Monday to hear Olympus Spa v. Armstrong, a closely watched First Amendment case involving a Christian, family-operated Korean spa challenging Washington state's enforcement of its gender identity requirements against the spa's women-only facilities.

The filing asks the Supreme Court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision allowing the state to enforce the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) against Olympus Spa's sex-specific admission policy. The case concerns the application of Washington's public accommodation requirements to intimate facilities where women and girls as young as 13 are required to be fully nude while receiving traditional Korean spa services.

PJI has represented Olympus Spa throughout its federal court challenge. ADF has now joined PJI in representing the spa as the case reaches the nation's highest court.

Olympus Spa is a Korean-inspired women's spa operated by the Lee family in Washington state. Its traditional services include communal bathing, saunas, massages and full-body scrubs. Nudity is required in portions of the facility, and the spa has maintained a sex-specific admission policy for its intimate spaces.

The dispute began after a transgender-identifying biological male filed a complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission, alleging discrimination after being denied admission. State officials determined that the spa's policy violated Washington's public accommodation requirements and directed Olympus Spa to change its admission policy.

Olympus Spa challenged the state's enforcement action in federal court under the First

Amendment, raising claims involving the Free Exercise Clause, freedom of speech and freedom of association.

In May 2025, a divided three-judge Ninth Circuit panel upheld the dismissal of Olympus Spa's constitutional claims. The court later denied rehearing and rehearing en banc in March 2026. The Supreme Court proceedings followed, with Justice Elena Kagan granting Olympus Spa additional time to prepare its petition for review.

PJI Chief Counsel Kevin T. Snider, counsel of record for Olympus Spa before the Supreme Court, said Washington's enforcement of its public accommodation law threatens the privacy of women and girls in intimate settings.

"It is an abuse and perversion of the public accommodation laws to give biological males access to the intimate spaces of unconsenting females in a state of full or partial undress," Snider said. "Those laws are meant to protect women and girls, not make them publicly available goods or services for the viewing pleasure of men."

ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John Bursch said the state's actions have placed the Lee family's Korean heritage, Christian convictions and business under government pressure.

"Based on a single complaint by a male who may never even have visited the spa, Washington state decided its views on gender identity must override a centuries-old cultural practice and deep religious conviction, turning its enforcement power against a Korean family's small business," Bursch said. "The Lee family was living the American dream while staying true to their Korean heritage and Christian values. Now, the state is turning their lives into a nightmare, insisting they compromise not only their deeply held religious beliefs but also the privacy and safety of women and girls as young as 13 who visit the spa. The First Amendment forbids all that, which is why we're urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the Lee family's case."

PJI Founder and President Brad Dacus said the Supreme Court now has an opportunity to address constitutional protections for religious business owners and the privacy of women and girls.

"Women and girls should be able to enter a female-only facility where nudity is required with confidence that their bodily privacy will be respected," Dacus said. "Washington has placed the Lee family in an intolerable position by demanding that they violate their Christian convictions and disregard the privacy expectations of their patrons. Pacific Justice Institute will continue this fight at the highest court in the nation, and we are grateful to Alliance Defending Freedom for standing with us and the Lee family before the Supreme Court."

The petition asks the Supreme Court to review whether Washington's enforcement of WLAD against Olympus Spa is consistent with the First Amendment. The case follows a series of Supreme Court decisions examining government burdens on religious exercise, including Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, in which the Court addressed the application of nondiscrimination requirements to a religious foster care agency.

The Supreme Court receives thousands of petitions each term and exercises discretion over which cases it accepts. If the Court grants the petition for a writ of certiorari, the justices will review the Ninth Circuit's decision and hear the constitutional dispute presented by Olympus Spa.

PJI has defended the Lee family throughout the litigation and remains committed to protecting the ability of women and girls to maintain bodily privacy in intimate spaces and the right of Americans to conduct their lives and businesses consistent with their sincerely held religious convictions.

Learn more about Pacific Justice Institute's work defending religious freedom and constitutional rights at WWW.PJI.ORG.

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