Jim Gibson has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

In its ruling abrogating a federal constitutional right to abortion services, the U.S. Supreme Court set off a firestorm of criticism unrivaled in recent times. Indeed, the Dobbs decision may be the most legitimacy threatening decision since the 1930s. At the same time, extant research has not established that displeasure with a ruling by the Court has great consequences for institutional support, largely because, as explained by Positivity Theory, Court decisions are invariability delivered with all the accoutrements of legitimizing judicial symbols. The purpose of this research is to determine whether the ruling in fact lessened the legitimacy of the Court and widened support for fundamental structural reforms to the institution. My most general conclusion is that Dobbs produced a sizable dent in institutional support, perhaps an unprecedented dent, in part because abortion attitudes for many are infused with moral content. Were the Court to go further than it did in Dobbs in its rejection of abortion rights, around one-half of the American people would either approve of the ruling or be willing to accept it despite disapproval. Were the Court to roll back Dobbs, nearly all the American people would either approve of the ruling or be willing to accept it despite disapproval. Especially in light of the substantial tilt of the Court to the right since 2020, the Court’s legitimacy may be at greater risk today than at any time since FDR’s attack on the institution in the 1930s.