In 2023, Indiana death doula Lauren Richwine received a cease-and-desist order informing her that she couldn't continue providing certain death doula services unless she became a licensed funeral director and operated a licensed funeral home.
Let that sink in.
A woman helping families understand their end-of-life options, navigate difficult decisions, and prepare for death was being told she needed a funeral director's license to continue educating and supporting them.
Lauren fought back. And she won.
With the help of the Institute for Justice, Lauren challenged Indiana's restrictions in federal court. Her case ultimately established an important First Amendment precedent protecting death doulas' speech across Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Her victory became permanent in June 2026.
Lauren Richwine holding the cease-and-desist order that set her legal battle in motion.
But Lauren's victory didn't end with her own right to practice.
Through her legal battle, Lauren and her legal team researched death care laws across all 50 states. That work revealed important questions about the boundaries of death doula practice, the rights of families, and the restrictions practitioners are often told they must accept.
Now she's bringing what she learned to the death doula community. And I'm partnering with her to help make that knowledge accessible.
What does the law actually say?
How many death doulas have been told they cannot do something because it's illegal, without anyone identifying the actual law?
How many have accepted a funeral home's business policy as though it were a state requirement?
How many have completed extensive training programs without learning how to find or understand the funeral code in their own state?
And how many are supporting families who don't fully understand the rights and choices available to them?
There is a difference between what the law prohibits, what an institution prefers, and what we've simply been taught to believe.
Understanding that difference matters. It matters for the people we serve. It matters for the integrity of our work. And it matters for the future of death care.
Why we're bringing this conversation to you
I've spent years supporting dying people and their families, educating death doulas, and navigating the complicated intersections of healthcare, funeral care, personal autonomy, and professional boundaries.
I've also become increasingly concerned about what's missing from death doula education.
We spend considerable time teaching people how to hold space, create rituals, accompany the dying, and cultivate a compassionate presence.
These things matter deeply.
But compassion alone doesn't tell us what the law permits. A certificate doesn't automatically confer legal authority. And even the most well-intentioned practitioner can repeat misinformation if they've never learned how to evaluate the laws governing their work.
We cannot effectively advocate for rights we don't understand.
Lauren challenged restrictions on her own work and helped establish legal protections that extend beyond her individual practice. Now she wants to share what she learned.
And I want to help make sure that information reaches the practitioners who need it through accessible education, meaningful conversation, and a clearer understanding of the systems in which we work.
Introducing Know Your Ground
Lauren Richwine of Death Done Differently and I are partnering through The Farewell Library to present Know Your Ground: A Legal Literacy Intensive for Death Doulas, a three-part virtual series on November 3, 10, and 17, 2026.
Together, we'll move beyond vague warnings about what death doulas can and cannot do and examine the actual legal landscape of our work.
November 3 | Death Doula, Meet Cease & Desist
What 50-State Research Reveals About Death Doula Practice
Hear directly from Lauren about receiving a cease-and-desist order, challenging Indiana's restrictions, and what the research conducted during her legal battle reveals about death doula practice across the country.
We'll explore how legal challenges arise, why the boundaries of our work are sometimes misunderstood, and what practitioners need to know.
November 10 | The Funeral Code Is Part of Your Toolkit
Transforming Legal Literacy into Professional Power
Funeral laws shouldn't be mysterious documents that only funeral directors know how to navigate.
We'll explore how to approach your state's funeral code as a practical source of information, distinguish legal requirements from institutional policies, and become more confident in researching the questions that arise in your practice.
Legal literacy doesn't mean becoming a lawyer. It means knowing where to look, recognizing when to ask questions, and understanding when professional legal guidance is necessary.
November 17 | Open Q&A with Attorney Ben Field
This final session is an opportunity I'm particularly excited to offer.
Ben Field, an attorney with the Institute for Justice who helped represent Lauren in her successful legal challenge, will join us for an open Q&A.
And I want to emphasize the word open.
This isn't simply a lecture about the law or a conversation where Lauren and I ask questions while everyone else listens.
Participants will have the opportunity to submit their own questions in advance and ask questions during the live session.
You'll be able to engage with an attorney directly involved in securing an important legal victory for death doulas, alongside the woman who brought the challenge.
It's an unusual opportunity to explore the legal questions that matter to your own practice.
Who should attend?
This series is for practicing death doulas, aspiring practitioners, educators, and anyone helping families navigate end-of-life and after-death choices.
It's especially relevant if you've ever wondered whether something you learned in training was actually a legal requirement, encountered resistance from a funeral home or other institution, felt uncertain about the boundaries of your practice, or wanted to better understand the rights of the people you serve.
And even if you've never faced a legal challenge, legal literacy is still essential.
You shouldn't have to receive a cease-and-desist order to become interested in understanding your rights.
The time to learn is before a conflict arises.
Join us for Know Your Ground
Lauren's legal victory reminds us that the boundaries of our work are not always as straightforward as we've been led to believe.
It also reminds us of what becomes possible when someone is willing to question a restriction rather than simply accept it.
I believe death doulas deserve an education that prepares them to do more than accompany the dying with compassion. We deserve the knowledge to understand the systems we work within, recognize the rights of the people we serve, and challenge assumptions when those rights are unnecessarily restricted.
Lauren fought a legal battle so she could continue doing the work she believed in. You don't have to fight that battle to learn from it. I hope you'll join us.
Jade Adgate is a death doula, educator, and advocate. Through her work at Farewell Fellowship, Farewell Education, and Farewell Library, she guides others in exploring mortality and cultivating understanding, reflection, wonder and care around life and death.
