Christian Spa Petitions Supreme Court After Man Demands Access to Female-Only Space

by Meredith Godwin | August 17, 2026 | Sexuality

A Christian immigrant family has requested the Supreme Court review their petition to keep a man who identifies as a woman out of a nude, female-only area inside their Korean spa.

Attorneys with the Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) have filed the petition on behalf of Sun Lee, a first-generation Korean American who operates two Olympus Spa locations in Washington State with the help of his family.

The petition explains:

[Olympus Spa] provides an intimate environment exclusively for women and girls. Its mission is to restore women’s physical and spiritual health through Korean customs that require complete nudity in communal areas and during full-body scrubs administered by female employees. The owners hold the religious conviction that men and women should not be unclothed together unless married to each other. So the Spa admits only female patrons.

In 2020, Haven Wilvich – a man who identifies as a woman – called the spa to inquire about the “female-only” policy. After employees told Wilivich that he would be denied access to the female-only communal spaces due to his male body parts, he filed a petition with the Washington Human Rights Commission (WHRC).

Sun Lee commented:

The Korean body scrub has been always served by the same gender over hundreds of years. A service provider never serves a Korean body scrub to an opposite-sex customer.

The petition to the Supreme Court also explains:

Olympus Spa is not just for adults. Girls as young as 13 visit the Spa … For their protection, the Spa’s entry policy ensures an intimate, safe, and private experience. Mr. Lee believes the Spa has a responsibility to safeguard young girls’ privacy.

After Wilvich’s initial complaint, Olympus Spa was charged with “active violation” of the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD) by the WHRC. An investigator gave the spa 10 days to either change its policies or face referral for prosecution.

Olympus Spa filed a complaint with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, arguing the WHRC’s judgement violated its First Amendment rights.

The spa’s complaint was eventually dismissed by a divided, three-judge panel in March 2026. According to the panel majority, the WLAD “imposes only incidental burdens on religious expression.”

ADF and PJI attorneys have now appealed to the Supreme Court to intervene on Olympus Spa’s behalf.

PJI Chief Counsel Kevin Snider said:

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.

No woman or girl should have to give up her right to bodily privacy and safety to avoid offending a man. That’s wrong, and it puts women and girls in harm’s way.

According to the petition, Olympus Spa has already experienced several incidents where a man entered the spa dressed as a woman, undressed in the locker room and entered female-only communal areas. The petition describes these incidents as shocking, humiliating and frightening to female customers, as well as damaging to the spa’s reputation.

“The Spa’s employees and customers have made it clear that they will not return if naked individuals with male genitalia use the female-only spa,” states the petition.

ADF Senior Counsel and Vice President of Appellate Advocacy John 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.

Related articles and resources:

Christian Physician Assistant Fired for Religious Beliefs Reaches $410K Settlement

Addressing Gender Identity with Honesty and Compassion

DOJ Releases Guidance Strengthening Religious Liberty Protections

Religious Freedom is not a Problem to Be Managed

Faith, Freedom, and the Future of America

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