A Seattle-area Korean women’s spa that has operated for more than 20 years is taking its dispute over transgender access to the U.S. Supreme Court.[1] Lawyers for Olympus Spa filed a petition two days ago asking the court to review the case.[1]
The fight began six years ago, after a transgender woman who had not undergone gender-affirming surgery said she was denied entry and filed a complaint with the Washington State Human Rights Commission in 2020.[1] The commission ruled that the spa’s entry policy violated the state’s anti-discrimination law.[1]
The spa has said it has allowed transgender women who have completed surgery to use the facility, and that the issue is not gender identity but bodily privacy in a shared, fully nude space.[1] The owner’s family has also argued that their conservative Christian beliefs give rise to a religious freedom claim.[1]
Seattle federal court and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals both rejected the spa’s arguments.[1] The case now raises broader questions about how the law should balance the rights of transgender people, the privacy of women customers and the religious freedom claims of business owners, while the Supreme Court decides whether to hear it.[1]
