Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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).
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.
#deathdoula #firstamendment #freespeech
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).
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.
#deathdoula #firstamendment #freespeech
