Do they have the right to fail themselves? Is that what you're asking? Why don't you ask yourself that question and provide the answer?
If the metric of "fail themselves" is disagreement with you, then yes, they have the right to disagree with you, and "fail themselves".
To him, "fail themselves" includes intended rape victims hitting their would-be rapists in self-defense before they manage to achieve total physical/psychological control, and penetration. Fucking evil as fuck.