Former Students Join PJI’s Supreme Court Fight to Protect Women’s Privacy

Former Pennsylvania public high school students have filed a friend-of-the-court brief supporting Olympus Spa as Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) and Alliance Defending Freedom ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Olympus Spa v. Armstrong, a case involving the right of a women-only Korean spa to preserve sex-separated spaces.

The former students describe their experiences after Pennsylvania public schools allowed access to locker rooms and restrooms based on gender identity rather than biological sex. According to the brief, students encountered opposite-sex classmates while changing clothes and, in some instances, while partially undressed. Several students said school officials dismissed their concerns or required them to use alternative facilities.

The brief, filed by attorneys Janice Martino-Gottshall and Randall L. Wenger of the Independence Law Center, argues that the students' experiences demonstrate the consequences of eliminating sex-separated privacy in intimate settings. It also explains that bodily privacy has longstanding historical and legal support.

"The privacy concerns at Olympus Spa are not theoretical," said PJI Chief Counsel Kevin T. Snider, counsel of record for Olympus Spa before the Supreme Court. "Women and girls have a legitimate interest in controlling who sees their unclothed bodies, and this brief gives the Court firsthand accounts of what can happen when those boundaries are removed."

Olympus Spa is a Christian, family-operated Korean spa in Washington state where patrons may be completely nude in portions of the facility. The dispute began after the spa declined to admit a biological male who identifies as a woman to its female-only facilities. Washington state officials later determined that the policy violated the state's public accommodations law.

PJI and Alliance Defending Freedom have filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review the Ninth Circuit's decision and protect Olympus Spa's First Amendment rights. The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether it will hear the case.

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