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Through her work as an end-of-life-doula, Lauren Richwine guides dying people and their families through the final stage of their lives
Whether talking with clients about how they want to be remembered or offering guidance on how to plan funeral services, Richwine has carved out a niche for her business.
She calls it “deeply human work.”
Richwine, Fort Wayne-based owner of Death Done Differently, is not a licensed funeral director, something she states loud and clear on her website and in consultations with clients.
But a 2021 anonymous complaint lodged with the Indiana Public Licensing Agency alleged Richwine had been engaging in the unlicensed practice of funeral services.
After the Indiana Attorney General’s Office served Richwine with a cease-and-desist order, she sued the state and won a 2023 preliminary injunction from the U.S. District Court of Northern Indiana to stop enforcement of the state’s funeral service statute against her and her business.
The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the lower court’s ruling in late August, finding Richwine’s services are protected under the First Amendment and that enforcement of the state’s statute against her would infringe on her constitutional rights.
How that ruling ultimately impacts end-of-life doulas like Richwine and Indiana’s broader funeral service industry remains to be seen.
Emma Yarber, the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency’s director of legislative affairs and communications, said that while the Office of the Attorney General is reviewing the matter and considering whether to pursue additional proceedings, the Indiana State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service and the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency respectfully declined to comment on any pending litigation.
Yarber said consumer complaints are ultimately investigated by the AG’s office, which will determine if a complaint warrants pursuing prosecution against the licensed or unlicensed practitioner before the appropriate licensing board. In this case, that would be the Indiana State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service.
“In any future discipline proceeding, the Board will continue to adhere to its duties of complying with both Indiana statute and case law provided by the courts,” Yarber said in an email to The Lawyer.
Ben Field, an attorney with Institute for Justice and lead counsel for Richwine’s case, said Richwine fills a gap in the continuum of end-of-life care through her services.
Richwine’s basic argument before the court is what she does is talk to people, which should be protected under the First Amendment, and does not provide technical services like transporting or embalming bodies.
Her website notes that she performs her duties in conjunction with and under the supervision of a licensed funeral director.
Field said the state’s efforts to shut down Richwine’s business and their arguments in court highlight a problem with a lot of licensing laws, not just those with funeral services.
“They are written very, very broadly,” Field said.
Free speech
Richwine said she can think of maybe a handful of end-of-life doulas in northern Indiana.
“I’m the only person in this city, in this area, actively serving the community,” Richwine said.
The National End-of-Life Doula Alliance, of which Richwine is a member, lists 22 Indiana doulas on its website.
Richwine has been an end-of-life doula for seven years.
She was a stay-at-home mother and freelance writer and photographer when she started volunteering with a local hospice.
Richwine said she realized there was a lot of need for end-of-life counseling and support.
After finding a mentor, Richwine went through training and eventually started her own business.
The state served her notice of the anonymous complaint in 2023.
“I was not shocked, but I did not know what to do next,” Richwine said.
Judge Ilana Rovner, writing for the 7th Circuit, noted that the state claims its funeral service statute served to prevent the spread of infectious and contagious diseases from human remains, protect the general health and environment and also protect consumers.
“We do not doubt that—in the abstract—the state has an interest in protecting the public and the environment from disease and fraud,” Rovner wrote.
But she questioned the state’s approach in Richwine’s case, describing it as one that “furthers the state’s interests the way an atom bomb would further the eradication of a residential ant infestation.”
Rovner added that Richwine did not claim she could perform a cremation, green burial or a traditional funeral.
She wrote that Richwine’s services protect consumers who are likely to benefit from the perspective of an individual who has no financial stake in the purchase of funeral services.
“Contrary to the state’s assertion, the plaintiffs are not providing the same service as the funeral home,” Rovner wrote. “Funeral homes have a financial stake in the purchases customers make. The plaintiffs have none.”
What comes next?
The 7th Circuit remanded the case for further proceedings.
Field said the ball is now in the state’s court on what happens next.
“We have not heard from them on what their plans are,” he said.
Since she filed the lawsuit, Richwine said she has been spending a lot of her time mentoring other people who wish to be end-of-life doulas, a service that is highlighted on her business’s website.
She is currently mentoring five individuals and also offers public speaking engagements to groups about end-of-life planning.
Yarber said there are 1,548 actively licensed funeral directors in the state of Indiana.
The fee for application by examination of a funeral director license is $100. Yarber said the PLA does not have data on the average cost of training for funeral directors.
The requirements for licensure as a funeral director can be found at Indiana Code 25-15-4-3.
Field said the cost to end-of-life doulas to go through the educational requirements of funeral directors, the time and effort involved in learning skills like embalming, which Richwine does not perform or offer, or buy or rent an actual funeral home site, would be prohibitive.
The attorney stressed that he felt many funeral directors were totally reasonable and willing to work with end-of-life doulas, something Richwine echoed.
“I’ll work with any funeral director. The challenge is not all funeral directors will work with me,” Richwine said.
Andy Clayton, executive director and CEO of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association, said the group is waiting to see the final outcome of the case before making an official statement.
Clayton said he’s spoken with Richwine before and is aware of a few end-of-life doulas practicing in Indianapolis, as well some in the southern part of the state near Louisville and in the Fort Wayne area.
The number of doulas pales in comparison to licensed funeral directors, of which there are roughly 1,600 in Indiana, Clayton said.
He said end-of-life doulas like Richwine are not viewed as competitors to the funeral service industry.
“We don’t look at them that way at all,” Clayton said.
What’s important to Clayton are the state statutes and standards that hold funeral directors accountable in their care for the dead.
He’s a second generation funeral director, and Clayton noted the biggest change he’s seen in his time in the industry is the condition of people’s bodies when they die.
Clayton said people are living longer than ever, with their bodies sometimes bear the harsh toll of that added longevity.
The funeral directors association advocates for compliance with the state’s laws, Clayton said.
He said he wants to see how the case’s outcome could affect professional licensing for funeral directors, as well as whether end-of-life doulas will have the same standard of accountability.
“At the end of the day, there is a public health consideration here,” Clayton said, adding that the case is testing the limits of what death care is.
For her part, Richwine says she’s in it for the long haul as an end-of-life doula.
She said she intends to have more boldness and courage in speaking out about her services and the ever-growing options, like green burials, that are available to consumers for end-of-life and funeral/burial planning services.•
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