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An Indiana “death doula” can continue to discuss end-of-life care with her clients while her lawsuit challenging the state’s funeral laws proceeds.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana Chief Judge Holly Brady granted the injunction last month, allowing Lauren Richwine to continue providing end-of-life guidance to her clients at her death doula business, Death Done Differently.
“I’m incredibly thankful that I can continue to facilitate important discussions with my clients about their end-of-life options while our lawsuit is ongoing,” Richwine said in a news release. “All Hoosiers deserve to know their choices at the end of life, so they can make an informed decision that best fits their unique needs.”
According to the complaint, filed in August, Richwine describes herself as a “community death care advocate” who “shares her knowledge about end-of-life options with families to help them put their own end-of-life plan in place that is best for them and their loved ones.”
But the state began investigating Richwine in 2021 under Indiana’s Embalmers and Funeral Directors Laws, and the Indiana State Board of Funeral and Cemetery Service ordered her to stop speaking with other adults about death care until she and her business obtain both a funeral director license and a funeral-home license.
“Because those licenses are so burdensome to obtain,” the complaint said, “in practice Defendants have imposed a complete gag order on Plaintiffs from speaking about death. These actions violate Plaintiffs’ First Amendment free-speech rights, whether that speech is in the form of one-on-one consultations, educational lectures to the public, comments about Indiana’s funeral laws, or truthful advertisements about those services.”
In granting a preliminary injunction, Brady found Richwine had shown a likelihood of success on the merits of her First Amendment claims. Brady noted Richwine doesn’t claim to be a funeral director, but instead claims “she has been muzzled by an overinclusive statutory scheme which has rendered her business comatose.”
Granting the injunction, Brady wrote, “Simply put, there is irreparable harm to Plaintiffs’ business absent a preliminary injunction because it has been placed in stasis under the Board’s Order. Plaintiffs cannot operate and are losing money daily. So too, their potential clients are deprived from Plaintiffs’ services in moments where time is certainly of the essence.”
Richwine is represented by attorneys with the Institute for Justice, as well as local counsel from Kroger Gardis & Regas LLP.
“It was clear from the beginning of this lawsuit that the state’s regulations were about censoring speech, and not about protecting public health and safety,” IJ attorney Ben Field said in the news release. “We’re glad the court has recognized the harm of these unconstitutional restrictions, and that it will continue to allow Lauren to operate her perfectly legal business.”
Richwine has also requested a permanent injunction enjoining future enforcement of Indiana’s funeral laws and regulations, attorney fees and costs, a declaration that the defendants’ enforcement of Indiana’s funeral statutes and regulations violates the First Amendment as applied to her, and any other relief the court deems appropriate.
“It’s nice to see the court recognize that the government cannot decide it wants to prohibit speech simply because it doesn’t like the topic or because that speech is part of someone’s job,” IJ litigation fellow Christian Lansinger said in the release. “You don’t lose your free speech rights when you go into business.”
Indiana Lawyer has reached out to defense counsel for comment.
The case is Lauren Richwine and Death Done Differently LLC v. Matuszak, et al., 1:23-cv-370.
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