My brother is severely disabled. He basically has the brain of a 3 year old in side a grown man's body. I feel fortunate in that he could have been much worse. He is like a big lump, only interested in food and "playing" instruments. You can tell he has emotions like any small child, except he can't speak (he makes loud noises though.) He knows maybe 15 words in sign language, most of them food. He throws tantrums, but he's not violent. He can't take care of himself at all. He can probably go to the bathroom by himself, but he needs to be wiped by someone else. He is just very poorly trained in general though.

He does like people though. He is affectionate and smiles when he sees you although he is very rough and loud. He loves jewelry too. When I see him like this, I always feel guilty about my feelings toward him.

I don't love him. I know that sounds awful because he's family, but that doesn't mean I don't feel responsible for him. When my parents are gone I know I'll have to watch over him. Hopefully they will find a decent place for him to live before then.

There are many times where I can't stand to be in the same room as him because he is shrieking and being a little asshole. I obviously wish he had been born normal or not at all.

He is a massive consumer of resources. He lives in his own apartment, eats three meals a day and has 24 hour supervision broken up into four caregivers. It helps to have government handouts, but if we had to take care of him with only that he would be in a much shittier situation. My parents can't stand to let him live in a place where they feed him junk and don't take care of his hygeine, even though he doesn't know the difference. I think of all the starving Indian children who could have lived with all the money we flush down the toilet taking care of him. It's a very difficult philosophical question that I still haven't made my mind up about. Still my conscience would prevent me from euthanizing him even if I could.

To answer your question, most parents love their child too much to want to give them up, no matter how disabled they are. Even if they don't love them, most people would feel some sort of responsibility like I do. Even those who can't afford proper care make due with the abysmal institutions we have in this country and never really give the child up, no matter how little they actually see them.