Is it wrong to have sex
during a woman's monthly period?

Q. Is it a sin or inappropriate to participate in sexual activity during the time when a woman is experiencing her period (menstruation)? Also, is it a sin to engage in anal sex?

A. During the monthly menses, a woman was considered "unclean" ceremonially under the Old Covenant. Sexual relations during this time were forbidden:

"Do not approach a woman to have sexual relations during the uncleanness of her monthly period. " (Leviticus 18:19, NIV)

If you do a little research, you will find there are quite a few contemporary researchers who have found that there are many sound medical reasons for abstaining from the intimacy during the time of menstrual flow.

As to anal sex, the Bible does not specifically forbid this activity between a man and a woman in marriage. It does, however, clearly condemn this behavior between members of the same sex:

"Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable."  (Leviticus 18:22, NIV)

"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them . . . . If a man mates with an animal, he shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them." (Leviticus 20:13, 15-16)

"Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, . . .

"For this reason God gave them up to vile passions.  For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.  Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. " (Romans 1:24, 26-27)

Contemporary studies have shown that anal sex quite often expedites the transmission of diseases such as AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases as well as infections from bacteria normally found in the digestive tract such as E-coil.

An E. coli urinary tract infection is the most common type of urinary tract infection. Nearly all of the UTIs that occur are caused by E. coli (Escherichia coli), a common bacterium find in the lower intestines of animals. They can also cause any number of infections, including pneumonia, sinusitis and endocarditis.

Since blood is the most common growth medium used in laboratories to grow bacteria, and the most common area where e-coli are present is in fecal material (that’s why most water parks forbid babies still wearing diapers to enter the pool without special diapers), one can readily see how having sex during the menses would be dangerous for both participants and having anal sex is the rough equivalent of notifying the e-coli bacteria that you’re looking to become infected.

The WebMD site states that although many types of E. coli are harmless some can cause bloody diarrhea. In some people, according to the site, E. coli may cause severe anemia or kidney failure, which can lead to death.

It’s good when we understand that God’s laws and instruction are not punishment but given for our benefit.