I’m Selling My Middle Finger for $1.5 Million

Just wanted you to know that I’m choosing to sell part of my body for $1.5 million and am looking for a buyer to step forward.

Here’s the scoop: My left middle finger is tattooed with a single line, running from the knuckle to the proximal interphalangeal joint (the one in the middle). It is now available for sale, along with a video of it being removed, preserved, packaged, and shipped.

In case you weren’t already aware, your body is yours and mine is mine. Bodily autonomy is the principle that asserts that individuals like you and me have an inherent right to control their own bodies and minds.

While the U.S. Constitution does not explicitly state this, it’s a concept that’s embedded in its fabric. You’ll find it reflected in key amendments such as the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth.

These protections affirm individual liberty, privacy, and due process, and place clear limits on government intrusion. Legal interpretations over time have further reinforced that self-ownership is fundamental to a free society. At its core, bodily autonomy asserts that no one—not the state, not another person—has greater claim to your body than you do.

Between the beginning and the end of your life, you can choose what to do with your body. Should you give blood? Exercise regularly? Play it safe, or put yourself in harm’s way?

These decisions of yours don’t happen in a bubble, despite what might appear to be powerful incentives to make certain choices.

Because it’s morally impermissible to initiate violence against others or to diminish their wealth through theft, fraud, or destruction of their property, there are an infinite number of choices you can make in terms of our bodily autonomy.

This is part of what makes the Principle of Human Respect a desirable and functional premise… it’s a minimally restrictive and maximally beneficial place to draw a line when interacting with others. In a free society, all consensual exchanges of value are allowed, even if an outside observer might find it odd, bizarre, or disagreeable.

How much is my second kidney worth? My blood? My bone marrow? My left foot? Personally, I give away blood regularly, and the value I receive in exchange is not money; it is far more precious.

Your human body is worth, ostensibly, between $550,000 and $45M. Can you put a price tag on your life, love, and lived experience?

Bottom line, I can’t tell you how much your health, happiness, and prosperity are worth, but what I do know is that it holds great value.

In America, 90% of people support organ donation, and 60% of adults are registered organ donors. 88,000 Americans are waiting for a kidney right now, an organ, like part of the liver, and certain other organs or tissues, that can be safely provided by a living person.

Fear of coercion and force in this marketplace has led to restrictive laws limiting voluntary exchange and costing 6,205 American lives every year. Ironically, these numbers come from Organdonor.gov, a branch of the entity restricting the practice under penalty of law and preventing the immediate remediation of most organ needs.

Are laws limiting life-saving sales and donations respectful of our fellow humans?

Of course not.

I am not being forced to sell my left middle finger, there is no violence or coercion involved. I simply want it to go to an individual or group of buyers so the funds received in exchange can be used for improving literacy in my community, affording locally sustainable energy production, and continuing my nonprofit work to improve journalism in America.

I also have my left and right ring fingers tattooed, signifying lines in my life (my marriage and children). That being said, I wouldn’t give them up for anything, at any time.

Those fingers, like the promises they symbolize, are not for sale. Distinguishing permanent and temporary lines is a choice for each person to make for themselves, and an important part of functioning in this sometimes uncertain world.

At the end of the day, you can literally buy my middle finger. Beyond that, you should exercise your self-ownership and push back when ownership of your body is not being respected.