Fort Wayne Death Doula Secures Final Victory in First Amendment Lawsuit Challenging State’s Restrictions on Discussing End-of-Life Care

FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Today, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana entered a consent decree cementing a Fort Wayne death doula’s victory in her First Amendment lawsuit challenging the state of Indiana’s restrictions on discussing end-of-life care. Death Done Differently owner Lauren Richwine and her attorneys from the Institute for Justice (IJ) first filed the lawsuit in August 2023, after the state told Lauren she must shut down her death consulting business unless she spent time and money obtaining unrelated funeral director and funeral home licenses.

In December 2023, Lauren won a preliminary injunction, allowing her business to stay open while the lawsuit was pending. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that injunction. The two court opinions issuing and upholding the injunction are among the nation’s best decisions protecting the First Amendment rights of those who speak for a living. Today’s consent decree makes that injunction permanent.

“The First Amendment protects the rights of people across a wide range of occupations who, like Lauren, provide advice for a living,” said IJ Attorney Ben Field. “Today’s consent decree makes it clear: the government cannot force you to spend thousands of dollars on an unrelated license just to talk about death.”

Death doulas, like Lauren, meet with clients and help them come up with an end-of-life plan, including things such as delegating tasks, helping families navigate the range of funeral options, and providing emotional and financially disinterested support while the family makes decisions. What they do not do is tasks traditionally associated with funeral directors, such as embalming bodies or transporting remains. Still, prior to this victory, death doulas in Indiana were required to obtain both a funeral director and funeral home license. Combined, those two licenses required the person to complete college-level coursework focusing on embalming, anatomy, and chemistry; work as an intern at a funeral home for a year and embalm dozens of remains; pay hundreds in fees; and build or purchase a full-service funeral home that can store and embalm remains (which would never be used).

“This victory affirms that we deserve access to independent guidance and greater transparency when making deeply personal decisions about mortality,” said Lauren. “How we bear witness to death is profoundly human. It should never be a one-size-fits-all process driven by profit. Clear information and the support of a compassionate, unbiased guide are basic rights so that we can navigate death and grief in ways that are true to our own hearts.”

The consent decree comes after the district court ruled in favor of Lauren in 2023 and the appeals court upheld that decision in 2025. IJ has secured major First Amendment decisions on behalf of other death care practitioners like Lauren, a veterinarian, tour guides, a newspaper advice columnist, a diet blogger, and others.

IJ has likewise taken on similar protectionist restrictions related to end-of-life care throughout the country. In 2024, IJ won a case on behalf of California death doulas, eliminating a similar licensing requirement. IJ also won a case on behalf of Louisiana monks who wanted to sell caskets without obtaining a funeral director license, and is currently representing an Oklahoma small business in its fight against that state’s law requiring anyone who sells caskets to get a funeral director license.