Josie Cunningham's decision to put career first is no different to that made by thousands of women seeking abortion. So why has she been subjected to a national hate campaign?

Like many British women, model and celebrity-wannabe Josie Cunningham had a decision to make about her pregnancy. She could have had the baby she didn't want, by a man she didn't love, and abandoned the career she craved; or she could put her career first, gain financial security, and think about adding to her family later, when she was ready. She chose the latter, and for that she's been vilified by the nation's press, condemned by leading public figures, and subjected to trial by hate mob. A woman exercises her reproductive rights, and Twitter burns.

The coverage of this story has seen newspapers spew the sort of rhetoric that wouldn't look out of place in the 1950s. The Metro speaks of her, "Claiming her career was worth more than the life of her unborn child," a line that wouldn't look out of place on anti-abortion literature. Nicola McLean, a glamour model and reality TV star herself, explains that the "stupid slag … doesn't deserve children." The Mirror, abandoning its liberal credentials, describes the abortion of a bundle of cells as a "life or death decision", with an easy majority of its readers threatening to boycott Big Brother should she take part.

Much of this seems to come down to basic snobbery. The Mirror gleefully quotes Cunningham's vision: "An abortion will further my career. This time next year I won't have a baby. Instead, I'll be famous, driving a bright pink Range Rover and buying a big house." It's a statement that invites judgment, from the sort of character tabloids thrive on mocking – a woman who doesn't know her place.

In reality, her actions are no different from those of thousands of women who exercise their reproductive rights in order to make informed choices about their future careers and families, yet because she uses the wrong language, because she talks "common", and wants to be on Big Brother instead of working in a call centre, she has been subjected to a torrent of vile abuse and bullying. Much of it incited by the very newspapers that promote the celebrity lifestyle in the first place.

To read Cunningham's mentions on Twitter is to explore a world of medieval morality I didn't think still existed in the UK. The "murdering cow" needs "locking up", you see. "It's a mental institute you need," explains one man. One woman tells her to throw herself off a cliff, while a man named Warren patiently explains that, "someone needs to throw acid on you." "I sincerely hope this woman is flattened by a lorry," prays another. Women who've never met her call her an "ugly no good cunt," a "rank slut," who "doesn't deserve the ability to conceive" and needs "a good hard kick in your piss flaps." Many talk erroneously about murdering babies or children, one woman asking if she can feel the 18-week-old foetus kicking inside her.

Equally troubling is that much of this abuse came from the followers of a GMC-registered doctor, Dr Christian Jessen, who tweeted, "this is a new low, even for her" to his 300,000 fans in reaction to the news; then retweeted a comment that "She is a vile human being," before advising "I WOULD LEAVE IT JOSIE, REALLY" when she complained about the avalanche of hate this provoked.

It's worth taking a moment to look at what the GMC's good medical practice guide says about doctors' use of social media. The guidance explains that "the standards expected of doctors do not change because they are communicating through social media rather than face to face." In particular, "You must not use publicly accessible social media to discuss individual patients," and "You must not bully, harass or make gratuitous, unsubstantiated or unsustainable comments about individuals online."

Dr Jessen used the moral authority invested in him as a rich, white, male celebrity to smack down a woman seeking an abortion. Her crime? Wanting to be as famous and wealthy as TV's Doctor Christian is, and not expressing that eloquently enough. Whether Jessen's behaviour is deemed professionally unacceptable is between him, the GMC and Josie Cunningham, should she choose to make a more formal complaint, but either way I hope he takes some time to reflect on his conduct.

In the meantime, this sudden backlash against abortion highlights just how fragile women's rights remain in Britain, and how easily sentiment can shift. It comes as the result of another disturbing trend, an increasing acceptance of the idea that only certain people deserve human rights. Thus phone hacking wasn't seen as a big deal until more 'deserving' victims than "celebs" were highlighted; only "hard-working" families "deserve" support from the state; people suspected of terrorism don't "deserve" the right to be charged within a reasonable period; and so on, and on.

The moment you introduce the language of "deserving", you invite others to judge just how deserving you are; and a right very quickly becomes a privilege. What makes the "debate" around Josie Cunningham so disturbing is that it refuses to even acknowledge the idea that access to abortion is a basic human right, or that women are entitled to choose what they do with their own bodies. If we fail to defend Cunningham, then we accept that only those women who are "deserving" enough should be allowed to have an abortion. And if we accept that, then it's only a matter of time before others are deemed undeserving as well.