Withrow Opposes Women’s Participation in Federal Bathroom Case
A male federal employee who is suing for access to women’s bathroom facilities in federal buildings has asked the court in Withrow v. U.S. to deny Jane Doe from intervening in the case to advocate for hers and other women’s interests.
Mr. Withrow denies in his court filings that women meaningfully object to sharing single-sex bathrooms in federal buildings with males who identify as women, and denies that women suffer any harm from lack of access to female-only facilities. Yet he seeks to deny Jane Doe’s intervention in the case, where she would have an opportunity to object, an opportunity to give evidence of these harms. He doesn’t just want to win the case - he doesn’t want Jane Doe or other women in federal employment to be able to make their case at all.
His main legal argument is that Jane Doe’s interests are adequately represented by the government already. Yet the government did not make any claim to be able to adequately represent Jane Doe’s interests - it did not file an opposition at all.
Of concern, Mr. Withrow’s brief also argues that Jane Doe’s intervention would infringe on his privacy by having to potentially disclose "sensitive private information with Ms. Doe and her counsel at the Women’s Liberation Front, an organization that is dedicated to opposing antidiscrimination protections for transgender people” and “misgender[s]” the plaintiff in legal filings. Specifically, they point to the first paragraph of the Proposed Answer that Jane Doe filed with the Motion to Intervene:
“Intervenor denies any suggestion in paragraph 1 that Plaintiff is a woman and in all other paragraphs that use female pronouns or titles to refer to Plaintiff or otherwise suggest Plaintiff is a woman.”
Distinguishing between men and women in law and policy when necessary and relevant is not “opposing antidiscrimination protections for transgender people”. WoLF is dedicated to protecting the rights of women and girls. This includes Jane Doe’s and countless other women’s right to privately and safely use the bathroom while they are at work.
Read Mr. Withrow’s full brief in opposition to Jane Doe’s intervention here.
WoLF’s reply brief, filed in response to Withrow’s opposition, can be found here.